Impressions

Carol and I spent last Saturday in Groton, MA celebrating the 70th birthday of my friend Alan.

He is an elderly gentleman.

And one of my closest friends.

Alan and I share an insane, sensitive, and honest history. The killer is that he had a stroke thirteen years ago that turned his life upside down and has never backed off, never allowed him back to full functionality. His left arm is almost entirely non-functional.

At one point he and Carol were sitting side by side on the couch to my right comparing notes on what they have been through. They are both strong, they are both positive. I had to fight back tears once or twice to see how they were connecting, how the troubles they have endured give them a shared perspective about life; how their fiercely positive attitudes set them apart from the rest of us mere mortals.

Super cool and inspiring.

Simple twist of fate: A woman who was at the party said she recognized me from the Capitol Center - she volunteers there. She is Alan's cousin. How insane is that?

It gets better. At one point she was talking to Carol and staring at her intently. She asked "Have you recently had surgery?" Carol said "Yes" and this woman, Marge, said "Acoustic Neuroma".

Boom. Turns out Marge went through the same exact thing that Carol is going through. Oh my God, they connected like magnets. Carol asked a lot of questions, Marge gave a lot of advice and encouragement. I was so happy for Carol to see someone who endured the same surgery and has come out the other end whole. She stood in front of Carol as living proof that she will be OK.

I was unsuccessful in fighting back tears during that conversation. I turned away once or twice and sneakily wiped my cheek so no one would see what a wuss I am.

I don't know, man - I am never sure how I feel about fate or karma. But that day, that meeting just had to happen. It was so random, but it made so much sense and it meant so much.

One more thought.

When we first got there, as we got out of the car, an old black dog came slowly towards us.

Dhani. Alan's dog.

The name probably means nothing to you but it does to me and to Alan. Dhani is George Harrison's son. When Alan told me what he named him I just thought it was the coolest thing.

I remember when Alan first got him. Dhani was a frisky, crazy, fun dog. He never listened to Alan, which drove him crazy. I haven't seen him for a long, long time.

Now he is old with white whiskers and moves very slowly.

For some reason that really got to me. I guess it was the stark contrast from the last time I saw him.

Alan and I are aging together; I don't see him often enough but I do see him from time to time. So our mutual physical depreciation is not shocking. But in my mind Dhani went from a young pup to an old dog in three seconds.

Alan turning 70 doesn't scare me; me being 64 doesn't scare me (too much). But seeing Dhani being old triggered something in me that has been bothering me ever since.

Call it discomfort. Call it awareness.

Anyway, what an amazing day. I took the day off from work to be there. Imagine if I said no, I can't go, gotta work. Imagine what we would have missed.

I am jaded, I am a realist, but I gotta tell you, life still surprises me sometimes.

Even on the downhill slide, life can make you feel good in your heart and in your soul.