I Remember

Eagerly, I am about to launch the newest chapter in my adventures in blogging on Born in Aruba: “I Remember” is the title for the latest category. Before just jumping into the first installment; I want to pay homage to the originator of this title. My dear friend from Cornell days, “Perry” (aka Doug which is another story in itself) is a true gem in my life. We have kept our connection alive for 35 plus years despite the distances and intermittent months/years of relative silence between us. By now I know that he is with me always, a phone call away and will continue to be a physical presence in my life from time to time when we can manage a real visit. He lives in Oakland and for years he flew up the last weekend in October to celebrate Halloween madness, corned beef and cabbage, and way too much caffeine and wine. I hope his next trip will come soon; it seems like a long time since we’ve had a personal visit. Are you reading this Perry?

Perry has a marvelous talent with words. He writes beautifully and often speaks a language that is pure poetry. He is gifted. We laugh about this because years ago as we sat in the same freshman English class with Professor Elledge, we walked away from the experience with vastly different impressions. I loved the class, Perry hated it. Did that have anything to do with the way the class affected our GPAs? Perhaps. But, if one easily agreed upon good outcome emerged from the chance assignment to the same freshman seminar, it was that Perry and I met and forged a new, and lasting connection. I firmly believe we would never have crossed paths otherwise. My life is enriched by this wonderful man I call Perry (aka Doug).

Perry says that the best way to be inspired to write is to start with the simple phrase: “I remember…..” and it will all flow from there. How simple and how true. Perry has shared some of his writing with me over the years and I know that it comes from the inner place that starts with “I remember”. So, to my dear friend, here’s to you as I launch into this phase of my blogging.