Saturday 24 August 2013

The Best Reward of All


Yesterday was a good day. The weatherman gave us one of those days that you think of when you think summer, There was a brief dust/rain storm which was kind of interesting to experience, and I got to spend a lovely evening with friends from the past.

My friends Rob and Linda have finally come west and are discovering the beauty that we Albertans try to keep secret. They are visiting for a couple of weeks and have been staying with other good friends Mike and Esther who have shown Rob and Linda the glory of Banff, Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump and the dinosaurs at Drumheller. They had a very busy three days. Friday was a rest day before they headed deeper into the Mountains and discovered British Columbia for a week or so. They are getting the royal treatment thanks to Mike and Esther.

Last night we met for dinner and conversation. Whenever I get together with friends from the old days, it is as if no time has passed and we just pick up the conversations from a few years past. We laughed and caught up on recent histories of kids and grand kids. “Hi’s” from friends back in Ontario were passed on and sent back. We left Mike’s place with a good feeling and feeling good.

I was wondering today if we would still be friends if Louise and I hadn’t moved out west all of those years ago. I am definitely an acquired taste and a little of me goes a long way. I know I would be a different person if I had stayed in Ontario, but whether I would be the kind of person worth being a friend, I just can’t answer. I’ll never know for sure.

What I do know is that the way life has swirled around me and mine has allowed a place for these wonderful people from my past to remain in my life, if only just a few hours at a time. We can’t predict the future, but I suspect that there will be tears and smiles when each of us reach for the great reward. When we all finally meet on the other side, we’ll pick up the conversations we had just a few years in the past. I’ll tell them how good they look now they are dead and I hope they are willing to lie to me as well.


Who knows, there’s a good chance we will be reborn as friends and get to do this all over again. That would be the best reward of all.

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