On this fifth anniversary of Peter's passing, I think once again how I miss not being able to tell him what I am up to. We used to regularly trade email and phone calls, or share a pint if in the same town.
I write this from a secluded lodge in the southwest corner of Costa Rica. The message was uploaded through a feeble hotspot hosted by the lodge cell phone.
The lodge is surrounded by primal forest in a national park, where exotic trees grow in tiers up steep hills, and birds and monkeys squawk and howl from the canopy. Seawater the temperature of a warm bath temps us to swim and snorkel. There is cold beer in a fridge and great home cooked meals. I'd like to be able to tell Peter all this.
I'd like to tell him about the wedding last night in San Jose, where Amelia's niece got married. A hundred people of Chinese descent listened to a ceremony in Spanish, in a church operated by the Jehovah Witnesses. That's a cultural experience! At dinner, I was the only uni-lingual person at our table, maybe in the whole room. These are good stories to trade and discuss. Peter and I did that for years. It was the bond that bridged the distance gap as life took us down different roads.
I have other good friends who will listen to my stories but their responses will not have that unique Peter quality. When at his best, he had a way of always making your experiences seem important.
1 comment:
It is so true...we all have many fond memories and value the interactions more and more as each year passes. Aline and I moved Dec 1st 2015 to Horseshoe Valley and I'm sure Pete would have loved visiting here too...in winter it would be perhaps some skiing or snowshoeing followed by hot tub, sauna and of course too many glasses of wine or beers and a great meal! Summer would be golf but much of the same follow up activities. Miss you big brother but I continue to have private conversations with you along the way as I know you are listening!
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