Catching Up!

After a hiatus of a mere six days - admittedly more in the nature of a pause than a suspension - my friend Jill and I reunited with characteristic gusto this afternoon to catch up on the weekend's news.  Last Friday she had been whisked off to Toronto and Georgian Bay for a get-to-gether with close girlfriends (predominantly people who like she are connected with the animation industry).  We began our reunion at her digs within the frothing spray of the Mississippi River.  It is always a treat to commute to Coleman's Island, the source of Almonte's historic woollen trade.  The Island instantly captures the welcoming atmosphere of tradition and quaintness. It is a secluded part of Town which features the delightful (though uncommonly known) Esplanade along the North bank of the Mississippi River.

Jill wasn't seated in the car more than thirty seconds when I begged her to provide me a full account of her recent activities. As always her attempt to accommodate my request was interrupted regularly by further ensuing enquiries, all of which succeeded to propel our conversation into deeper detail until we seemed to have lost the point of the initial sentiments.  But slowly we recovered.  The intelligence was however so thoroughly compelling that it seemed like moments only before we had wound our way through the Villages of Pakenham and White Lake into Burnstown where we stopped at Neat Coffee Shop.

After ordering our cappuccino and espresso coffees - and sharing the customary pleasantries with the owner and staff - we settled outside at a shaded table on the patio. The high-spirited dialogue then continued unbroken. As usual each particle of information promoted yet another divergence.  But slowly the proffered account made its tortuous way to an acceptable conclusion which ended with a metaphorical return to home territory. We both sighed visibly upon having completed our intended purpose. The flies buzzed. We sipped the dregs of our respective coffees. In keeping with what is apparently my undying (though quite unsolicited) conviction of the necessity to provide a summary opinion about anything, I proceeded to elucidate my interpretation of the narration.  In defence, the observations were entirely positive and supportive, dwelling as they did upon the uplifting possibilities of what had been said.  Once again we fell into a lull of conversation before gathering ourselves to depart.

The ride homewards along the back roads of Renfrew County and through Arnprior onto the Queensway extension was protracted by the decision to go for a car wash in Stittsville. Here the conversation became decidedly less robust and more clinical. The nagging challenges of life are never completely at bay. But in concert with what has proven to be the hallmark of our alliance we endeavoured to mitigate the sting of those ulterior provocations by emphasizing instead their strengths. The inescapable truth of our friendship is that it goes back for decades and it is nothing short of irreverent to ignore the longevity for any reason. It is almost as though we have calculated to rise above the indignity of corruption! Within our sometimes churlish atmosphere there is no place for even plausible despondency!