Hitting the Mattresses

Here's a goofy friendship story. During my college days, I ran with a bigger circle of people (bigger than two, that is). I think there were six of us that night.

Our neighbors - like four or five guys, all crammed in one tiny apartment - they moved out suddenly. They left all of their mattresses and boxsprings next to the curb for the trashmen to pick up.

My friends and I were in the right 'state of mind' for a crazy plan, and I hatched one. We took all of the discarded mattresses and boxsprings, and we stacked them next to the building. This produced a 'crashmat' that was about four feet thick.

There was a tree next to the building with a thick branch that grew right over the roof. You could climb this tree easily and be on the roof in seconds. We all got on the roof and took turns running and jumping off of the roof onto the stack of mattresses. It was some of the best fun I've ever had in my life. We were getting wild and crazy with it, doing flips and yelling and screaming. Then the cops came.

The cops told us to cut that shit out - - they said somebody was going to get hurt. So we said okay and waited for them to leave. After they left, we resumed the activity for another hour or so.

Then they came back and saw a few of us standing in the yard after we had made our jumps. They asked us if we were still doing that stupid shit, and we said no - - no way. There was still one guy on the roof, though, waiting to make his jump, this guy named Christian. Christian didn't know that the cops had returned. So Christian comes running across the roof, screaming, gung ho, balls-out crazy "YEAH! WOO HOO" - - and he already had a cast on his arm from some previous stupid, dangerous activity (skateboarding on painkillers or something). Christian spotted the police right before he made his jump. He stopped - - and just stood there on the roof, kind of looking at his feet, not knowing what to do next. The cops just looked at each other.

A Little Better Than a Photo of My Tupperware Cupboard

Today a friend and I hiked around a watershed. Neither of us are serious hikers (or photographers) - - but it was great to get out into the sun, away from the sound of the inevitable internal combustion engine. It was so bright out, so a lot of the photos were washed out.

I'm lucky to live in such a beautiful place, Florida. I'm lucky I can drag this friend of mine on death marches like this. We ran out of water quickly, so we headed back to the car.

Not long after my wife left last year, I saw this poem slide show piece on youtube. I had already met a few people who fit into the categories - - people coming into my life for a reason -- or for a season, - - hopefully this particular friend of mine will be there for a lifetime. He has been a life long spiritual seeker - - and while I'm not into spirituality nearly as much as he is and probably won't ever be - - he pointed to a lot of things that really saved my soul. Great person. Great friend. He'll come up here and crash the weekend if we feel like a more hustling environment - - I'll go down and crash at his place if we are into a more chill weekend.

We always have awesome weekends - - even if we don't do anything but roam.

Roaming is the best. Never know what you'll see.

Recruiting Loners

Driving around last night with a friend (one of the two friends I have), I thought about what I always think about when it's just us two dudes - - namely: I wish we had a broader circle of friends. This wish is counter to my loner nature. I guess I'm conflicted or something. I've said before that the best friend for a loner is another loner. The best circle of friends for a loner, then, must be a circle of loners. At what point do loners fall out of the category of loner and become non-loners? Maybe I shouldn't be thinking in these terms and using this label, loner.

Earlier yesterday in our roaming, we were in a spiritual bookstore, and I saw a guy who looked really familiar. I realized he was a guy whose picture I'd seen a lot at meetup.com. He initiates lots of spiritual meetups, but I don't think they are very well attended. I was thinking, Wow, I should talk to that guy. It would have been weird though. Hi. I recognize you from your photo - - because I've considered attending one of the many meetup groups you've initiated - but - for some reason - I never have.