Late night bagels
Early morning drives
Long talks where we both hurt
Long silence
Driving you to the emergency room
Learning how to listen to you
Crying together
Praying for you
Self-appointed food critics
Camping on the porch
Looking for you in rooms
Listening to you play the piano
Laughing as your hamburger burns
Getting mad with you
Tripping over your stuff
Watching movies with you
Long walks
Musing together
Being worried together
Getting lost together
Maillard Browing
Comparing notes
Copying notes
Pulling your slack
Me dropping the ball
Me being a jerk
Missing you - and not knowing why
Ice Cream and Baily's
Saturday Morning Market
Riding 25 miles to your house
Bebop-a-Rebop Rhubarb Pie
Rescuing you when you lock your keys out
Stealing your car
Your enormous salads
The funny way you fold clothes (or the way you don't at all)
Attending to your conversation
Reading the books you like
Grilling steaks on the shore
Sleeping in the basement
Push starting your car
Watching you grow
Fitting 7 people into a 4 person tent
Finding that Baileys can go into everything
Having you inspire me to try things I would not try on my own
Being corrected by you
2.5 pancakes at Tam's Place
Rubens
Chaco's
Tea
Being adopted by all 14 of you
Verbally puking on you
Praying together
Seeing that indeed you are wise and I have much to learn
Sunrises
Rusty Tractors
Drinking Prune Juice
Roasted Woodpecker
Watching the cooing version with you
Listening to your stories
Spinning donuts with you in the snow
Telling me that I look like a convict
Looking for my glasses on the beach
Believing me when I said Subway was on fire
Taking me fishing
Eating dinner at your folks and beating you at all your games
Your honesty
Talks at the water tower
Walks on the Chipman Trail
Wanting to beat that guy into pulp for you
Seeing your heart for the people around you
Burning Christmas Trees for my birthday
Random Unplanned Epicness
Letting me brag about my teapot
Hearing about the physics of champagne bubbles
Learning about P waves and T waves
Not understanding your homework at all
Helping you stay up and finish that paper
Staying up with you and figuring out life
Councils of War
Exploring the Palouse
Breaking up inside when you cry
Dinners
French Toast made out of a whole loaf of French Bread
Laughing at your attempts to brew beer
Land of Goshen, child
Swing dancing in camo shorts
Night Games
Your white socks, dress shoes, and sweats pants
You waking me up at 2 because you have not slept thru the night for two weeks and you need someone to talk to, and me talking your ear off for an hour at least
Eggs and Grits
Singing in stairwells
Climbing on rooftops
Cliff diving - and my backfloping
White water rafting in a canoe
Hitch hiking
Picking up hitch hikers and finding that they just were released from prison
and the list goes on -
Many of you will see yourselves in this list - thank you - thank you for your friendship. Not mere acquaintanceship, but friendship, people that I care for - people that I laugh with and cry for. You are such a blessing - you don't even know.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights...
Neil,
ReplyDeletewhen you come to us? We miss you (said with accent of your choice)!
~The Boothmans
Awesome Neil... I wish I knew half those stories. Just amazing bro!
ReplyDeleteNeil you rock!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me feel very emotional. It's weird. Thanks Neil
ReplyDelete