Dancing in the Moonlight

There are so many sights, sounds and fragrances that transport me right back to my teenage years. For example, the smell of Coppertone Suntan Lotion or the taste of beer, the sight of sunlight glistening off lake water or dozens and dozen of songs from "back in the day".

King Harvest's "Dancing in the Moonlight " is right up there - up top.

It immediately takes me back to a party I went to with James Dodge (wasn't I always with Dodge in high school - seems like it...). This party was at Brush Dam...in the dark with only the moon light and a flickering firelight. The scent of beer and homegrown in the air. The sound of music and laughter.... man, like it was yesterday.

It was one of those parties where you know deep down in side that its one of the last. School would be over soon, folks would go off to college, the service or worse - get married. Soon we would cease to be "us". Go from being "us" to being little pockets of "mine and ours".

In a brief moment of resignation I'll admit that I was at a gathering at Dana's cousin's house last night where I had a very good time. There were nine of us sitting outside around a fire with sporadic raindrops chasing us about. Although there were plenty of exotic Daiquiris to be had I, in a mood of nostalgia, had brought out a well stocked cooler of Boone's Farm Wine.

Okay, I'll cop to it, I had just finished watching the movie "Dazed and Confused" on cable and was feeling very nostalgic. The first time I ever became intoxicated it was on Boone's Farm Wild Mountain Wine.... or maybe it was the company of clowns packed into Mannie's VW... Boone's Farm Wine seemed to fit the bill for me last night. As he packed the cooler Dana asked me if I wanted to grab the plastic cups to take with us. "What? And miss out on the experience of drinking it straight out of the bottle...never!

Last night I laughed so hard I had to beg them to stop and let me catch my breath... several times in the night it crossed my mind that I could be just as happy in Missouri as I have been in New Mexico...okay, there I said it. Doesn't change the fact I want to go home but tells you a little bit about why I don't press harder to get there.

Life can be so incredibly good at the most unexpected times. There are people and places (...I remember ...Beatles reference here) that make up my life much like a patchwork quilt. Who would I be without one of them? Who...not me for sure...

So when I say I love each of you, its not lightly that I say it. I do love each one of you. Even those I don't like have played a role in my drama and I owe them a debt of gratitude also. I love you all, the ones that are here, the ones that have gone and the ones that will come. I love you.