Please remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop...
Like a sandcastle I've built on the shore, my blog will get washed away by the tide.
I haven't copied anything because I know I'm not the type to look back and dwell. The memories and happy times are here in my mind's eye... until those fade away too.
Thank you, John, for what you've created for us. I've always wondered how much you looked in on your bloggers, and if you could sense the magic that unfolded amongst us in the beginning years.
I am grateful to have been a part of the Original 20-something writers here in 2005. Colo Jackie says our souls sought this place to reconnect from another time. I think she is right. We are all connected on facebook now, the bond is that strong even still.
Big love and respect to you all!
I am jumping over to blogger.com as well... maybe see you there? :
And Tom Cruise.... I always did have a weakness for a beautiful smile.
I mean, seriously. After seeing THAT movie, what red-blooded American girl didn't suddenly want to date a handsome, cocky Navy pilot? And have a steamy blue back-lit love scene behind a sheer curtain billowing in the breeze while that sexy Berlin song "Take My Breath Away" played softly in the background, just like in the movie?Please. All of us did. It was 1986... we had big hair full of crunchy mousse and gel. We wore crazy fashion with massive shoulder pads. Anything was possible!
And just how lucky was it for me and my BFF that our bachelorette apartment was near the Navy's master jet base! We were golden, and we knew it.
So I met James out at the club one summer night in 1986 when he approached me with the lamest opening line ever; quite possibly even in the history of man. And how, for the love of Chuck Norris, this worked to get my attention I'll never know.But when I turned to see who was saying something so dumb, there stood a Viking god: a tall and handsome, blonde haired, blue-eyed hunk of man with a perfect smile.
To be honest, he looked more like Iceman (Val Kilmer), the ultra cool-headed nemesis of Maverick, our Top Gun hero. And that was okay. We talked for a while. James was funny, smart, and decidedly cocky. And he was... wait for it... a jet pilot. Yay me!
Well, the Naval Aviator (as they prefer to be called) and I dated for a few months, and then he left me in a vapor trail when he flew away.... onto some other runway, I'm sure. Ohhhhhh. I was sad, because I really liked James and was kind of smitten with him. Ahh well. Life goes on.
But this is not the end of my story...
Fast forward to Summer 2010. The thought occurred to me to see if he was on Facebook, and I found James there back in June.He remembered me, and we exchanged several happy emails catching up with each other.He was quick to apologize for the way his 24-year-old self handled things with me at the time, acknowledging he was quite full of himself and thought he ruled the world back then.I'm blaming Top Gun for that, too, by the way. Anyway, James said he was currently flying for FedEx based out of Memphis, and asked if he could he buy me dinner the next time he had a layover in Norfolk.
Absolutely. I was curious about James, too, and thought it could be fun!
I smiled when the email arrived this week, containing his cell phone number and the much anticipated offer to have dinner. James' voice still sounded the same when I called to accept his invitation, and now I couldn't wait to see him. The plan was that I would meet James in front of his hotel downtown, and then we'd walk in town center and choose somewhere to eat.
It was still hotter than blazes in the early evening as I rounded the corner toward his hotel. In the distance, I saw him standing in the courtyard, watching for me. I waved, and it felt like a slow-mo Hollywood movie as we came closer. I opened my arms and hugged him hello. Time had been very kind to him... and damn, he looked good! Nice!
We small talked it to a restaurant around the block. Once seated inside, we grinned across the table at one another, rather enchanted while we chatted. Neither of us heard a word the young waitress was saying for several minutes.James apologized to her, and explained we hadn't seen each other since 1986. The whole concept seemed to blow the waitress's mind, since probably she wasn't even born yet in ’86.
James and I had a great time staring at each other and catching up for the last 24 years over a span of two hours. Yes, his 40-something year old self is still a little cocky, but it oddly attracts me. I like the man he has become, and was pleasantly surprised at how much we have in common. Our respective commitment issues in relationships made me laugh. We both hated for the night to end, but James was scheduled to fly back to Memphis shortly.So we left it with a long embrace, or two, and hopes that he'd have a layover here again sometime soon.
No telling what the future holds. But for now, I feel like putting on an old movie from 1986.
Intriguing words on their own. But lately, I have been pondering them quite heavily.
Serendipity: making fortunate discoveries by accident.
Some say there are no accidents in life. I mostly believe this. The concept seems so mystical and cryptic and fascinating. It's planned that way.
My go-to thing has reluctantly been the "meant to be" theory. Like things didn't work out with this one or that one because "it wasn't meant to be." I've used that to explain a lot of stuff in life that has tanked on me. It certainly has an odd comfort to it, thinking fate was at work and there was nothing I could have done. "It just wasn't meant to be." But I'm not so sure anymore.
Maybe I am responsible for blowing it. Where does free will enter into the picture? Are destiny and fate influenceable, or absolutely predetermined?
As for relationships, I believe there are certain people who are meant to be in your life, and the Universe is going to make sure your paths cross. What becomes of it from there is up to you and your free will. Okay, so what if you're the queen of ill-advised decisions, and have blown what should have been? Will the Universe be like water, constantly seeking its own level, and try to even things out for you and present another chance?
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