ROAD TRIP

I drove to Waco today to meet an old friend for lunch who was in Dallas visiting his family via Colorado,where he's lived for years now.We first met in 1983...or maybe 1982,when he was the unit manager at a treatment center here in Austin.One of his employees was my lab partner in nursing school and they were hiring.He hired me and we became fast friends,doing the punk rock thing in Austin and we have been in contact ever since,visiting each other whenever we can.
So here's the trajectory for today:
Dallas...95 miles south to>...Waco...<106 miles north from Austin.
So we each spent around 200 miles give or take,round trip,to have lunch together.
And it was worth every mile.I have a handful of friends I've known for this long and it was really good to see him,to catch up and to see the wrinkles of time in each other.When we met we were young and kinda crazy and now,almost 25 years down the line,one of us is still crazy,I'm just not saying who :)
I had a traveling companion with me today as well,Irene went on the ride of her life.While I wasn't really concerned about how she would handle such a long trip,I was concerned she would get bored and want out of the car,causing a ruckus.She was a peach.She let me know when she had to pee,which coincided with a rather anxiety inducing stretch of IH 35 where both shoulders were closed which means very narrow lanes with chest high concrete barriers on either side that I absolutely hate,and being that 35 is the main NAFTA corridor,there was lots of semi truck traffic as well as regular traffic.I was quite unnerved,and a rest area presented itself just in time for her to pee and poop and run around and for me to regain my road legs.
For the rest of the trip,to and from,she was her usual regal self,sniffing the new smells in the air,and sitting straight up in the seat gazing out the windshield taking in the sights between power naps.
We helped some women in the restaurant parking lot jump their battery as we were leaving,and Irene was a hit.As I was for -get this- locating the battery of the disabled car and hooking the cables up for them.
So,to sum up...Road trip with my best girl dog,lunch with a dear old friend,and a good samaritan act for the finish before a long ride home.
And I am glad to be home...I don't travel as easy as I used to.