11.18.2008

I am richly blessed

Beers and Pipe Tobacco

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...

4 comments:

  1. Neil,
    when you come to us? We miss you (said with accent of your choice)!

    ~The Boothmans

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome Neil... I wish I knew half those stories. Just amazing bro!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This makes me feel very emotional. It's weird. Thanks Neil

    ReplyDelete