May 9: Affectionate, Glad as Hell, Lou

"Holden!" she said right away.  She put her arms around my neck and all.  She's very affectionate.  I mean she's quite affectionate, for a child.  Sometimes she's even too affectionate.  I sort of gave her a kiss, and she said, "Whenja get home?"  She was glad as hell to see me.  You could tell.

I love reading about Holden and Phoebe, because the affection and love between them is palpable.  Even though they bicker through a good portion of their time together in Catcher, it's obvious they care about each other a great deal.   In fact, I think Phoebe saves Holden's life at the end of the book.

I saw my good friend, Lou, a little while ago.  She's the wife of another one of my good friends.  I haven't see Lou in a very long time, and we greeted each other like survivors of a prisoner of war camp.  Long hard hug.  A kiss.  As Holden might say, I was glad as hell to see her.

Lou is originally from South Africa, and she is one of the gentlest, kindest people I know.  She was working when I saw her, giving free chair massages at a health expo.  As she worked on my knots and kinks, we talked about her husband, the university, poetry, promotions, jobs, kids, spouses, and tenure.  In fifteen minutes.  Her husband teaches at the college, and he's working on his promotion/tenure materials.  Lou and I commiserated about the slightly toxic departmental politics at the moment.  We also commiserated over the fact that we hadn't seen each other for months.

When she was done massaging me, I felt loose, relaxed, and energized.  I also felt loved and respected and cared for.  I gave Lou another huge hug.  I promised to e-mail her, and we vowed to get together for a barbecue once the weather transitioned fully from winter to summer.

I don't always meet genuinely nice, sweet people every day.  Lou is one of the exceptions.  She made my day so much brighter.

And Saint Marty gives thanks for her.

Just a couple of good buds