Slip Sliding Away

Cap Stones

The Pope just said he believes in evolution and the big bang. Who would have thought such things would happen in my life time. And yet I am surrounded by people I personally know who believe the earth to be only 6000 years old. The cap stones in the opening photograph are older than that. And once they were on top of pillars of sandstone - the heads of goblins. And before that they were the top layer under a huge inland sea. All that we see is slip sliding away.

It is true of people too. Friends come and go talking of Michelangelo. I once told a friend, who was upset I was moving on, that it would not matter if I was staying because friendships come and go even if you live next door. She didn't get it. In fact she chose to never speak to me again. Instead she became fast friends with another friend I left behind at the same time. And that ended. Neither of us know what became of her.

The shared friend currently lives next door. She is moving soon. But our friendship has already slipped. She has slipped. That is one of the difficult things at our age. Is it dementia, insanity or Alzheimer's? So many people "retire" and move to some place warmer and easier. And with no friends.

In our youth we moved on to the next place and the next set of friends, the new job or neighborhood so very easily. The company I worked for sent packers on one day and loaders the next. I said good by to coworkers on Friday and began work at the new site on Monday. One year I was moved three times. That saved a lot of unpacking. I have no need or desire to move again. I know this place. I know the people at the grocery store in off season.

But my friend is moving to Florida, a place of complete strangers to herself and each other. But she has already become a stranger to me. And were we to meet again for the very first time I do not believe we would have anything in common. We have had an episodic friendship over forty some years. We drift away to other places and interests. And return without notice into each other's lives. But I feel she is gone this time.

The move is November 20th. Plans are to be back for summer. But like the Cheshire Cat I do not know if she can re-materialize. I am not sure there is much of her visible right now. I tried to tell her I thought the move would be the end of her, back months ago when I felt there was enough of her to listen and hear. We are past that now.

My sister just called to say her cell phone is dying. She asked me to personal message her my contact information in case her provider cannot save her SIM card. Are we losing our abilities to use our organic SIM card? After my Closed Brain Trauma, a friend who had been there and done that told me to practice everything I didn't want to lose. But you cannot practice for someone else.

Comments

Post a Comment

I write for me but I care what my readers think. Please be polite and no scamming.

Popular posts from this blog

Swimming

Image
For much of my college career my fitness workout was swimming on the B squad of the swim team. I remember it as the days before heated pools and women coaches. I also remember being so exhausted and cold I could only lean against the shower wall and throw up. Not exactly warm fuzzy images but I was in awesome shape. Needless to say it did not leave me with a overpowering desire to swim laps. Point of fact for years my swimming became really informal: Swimming to shore after the canoe tipped over, challenging my sister once a summer to across the lake and back, seeing how long I could back float without moving a muscle, and a scuba course. I also played around with other ways of staying fit: aerobics, bicycling, jogging, skiing and dance classes. All of which seem to be bad for the knees, back or feet. After my ski accident my physical therapist steered me back to the pool. Damn if I was going to swim laps! However, aqua fit was just getting rather seriously taken so I took it. It r
Read more

The Pruning the Crown of Thorns

Image
Crown of Thorns Before I am a lover of Euphorbias . They are from the deserts of Southern Africa and Madagascar. They have evolved physical characteristics and forms similar to cacti of North and South America and are often incorrectly referred to as cacti. My big Crown of Thorns was one of my first of a growing collection of these succulents from the spurge family of Euphorbiaceae. I picked it up as a 6 inch plant in a New Iberia nursery when my sister and I were touring the northern gulf coast. I believe that was 15 years ago. I made an attempt at limiting its height a few years back to allow it to devote more energy to the new branches and make it a denser plant. That failed. And the height of the plant continued to challenge the window space and soon the long branches were leaning over and leaning against the window. I googled and found the proper way to prune this treasured plant. Still it was very difficult to cut off the four longer branches. Even with a plan. The f
Read more

Eagle Nest Dam

Image
Tour of Eagle Nest Dam Eagle Nest Dam is the largest privately built dam in the United States. It was begun by the Springer family in 1917 and completed in 1920. It and the reservoir beyond it one was privately owned by the CS Ranch which recently sold it to the state of New Mexico. Eagle Nest Lake is now a state park, but the dam and the waters in the lake are another matter all together. Water is well regulated in New Mexico especially during a drought. The lake is now at 25% of its normal capacity, and the water in the lake are water right lease holds of Raton, Cimarron, and historic ranches in the area like the UU Bar and the CS Ranch. Game and Fish department also get involved because the Cimarron River is an active fishery of the state. Our guide was a state engineer and the Gateway Museum secured permission of the land owners below the dam for us to gain access to the area. Some 100 locals and tourists attended this rare event. I have lived here almost twenty years and th
Read more