Just Friends

Sitting here with a bad cold is giving me a little time to reflect and, as we all know, a little time to reflect can be a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring, whatever that is...

Apologies for mangling Pope.

Anyway, I was reflecting, as I sometimes do, on my life up to this point. Admittedly, it's been a mixed bag and, sometimes, I feel that:

I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker/And I have seen the eternal footman hold my coat and snicker......

Is it perfume from a dress that makes me so digress?

OK, no more poetry. I'm a little light-headed today.

Anyway, behind me are two (2) expulsions from college. One divorce. And, my climb up the corporate ladder has been....leisurely, to put it kindly. My college friends are enjoying glamorous careers with the State Department, as partners in major law firms, as highly placed political operatives and there's even a movie producer in the mix, now. I'm ashamed to admit how much of my day is spent explaining concepts like sell-stop and sell-limit to first-time investors.

However, one area of my life in which I have been blessed beyond my desserts is in my friends.

October 1 will be the second anniversary of my move from a five-bedroom house in the suburbs to a one-bedroom apartment in a hip, eclectic and gritty Chicago neighborhood. Ted and Barry arrived in time to spend my first weekend with me, bringing a "bachelor survival package" consisting of cigars, gift cards and an iPod nano. We had a great weekend together. Len showed up a couple weeks later, and we spent time checking out the bars and restaurants and women in the neighborhood. And going to Soldier Field for the Bears games.

I got to know my upstairs neighbor Bethany during a blackout, when I asked to borrow a candle. She helped me with a shoulder and a sympathetic ear when E treated me....problematically ("You've got to end it, David") and did her best to keep Mar away from my apartment when I didn't want to see her. She also used to bake the best brownies and cookies and always brought me a batch. As her bedroom was above mine, we used to tease eachother about the sexual activities we heard in eachother's apartments. She moved out but is still often in the area.

I got to know my next door neighbor Drinking Buddy and we bonded over a love of the Bears, books and....our favorite bar, Nick's. He is always generous with his bar tab and someone I can always count on for his honesty.

I met ZB ten years ago, when we were both dating the same woman. He and my wife didn't really like one another but when I moved out, he was back in my life again as if nothing had happened. He is always up for bars, festivals, bands and parties and as upbeat and positive a guy as you will find.

Waffle and Grandpa, the Romanian duo, I met through a film class. They are much much worldlier than I am and I am enriched by their perspectives. I met Urban Melissa through a film class as well, and we bonded over our nightclub stories. She's a lot of fun to hang with, a good listener and wiser than her 27 years.

When I moved into my apartment, I made a rule for myself: anytime someone invited me to do something, I had to accept. Even if, especially if, I didn't think I'd have a good time. The idea of urban isolation has become something of a cliche'---lonelines in a sea of people, no one getting to know his neighbors, etc. My urban experience has been more pleasant. The one area in which I have been an unqualified success has been in my ability and luck in making and keeping good friends.

I haven't been doing too badly with the ladies, lately, either ;->