May 11th - 13th : Rhode Islanders out West
Growing up in Rhode Island, there was always an emphasis on a tight knit community.
You end up knowing people in the same neighborhood, who go the same schools, who work at the same places for part time jobs while in school, you work in the same area you grew up in, marry someone who also grew up in the same area, you buy a home together, have children and repeat.
If you are a person who has a bit of wanderlust, it can be a stifling environment when an adult. Other people don't leave the community...why are you leaving?
But one positive part of this environment is that the friendships you develop tend to last long. Their is a shared history that goes back many years and goes well into the future.
I have two friends I've known for a long time. Though I am 2000 miles away from them, Leo and Tim are still close friends.
Tim went to the same Catholic elementary school as I. We both worked as orderlies at the same local hospital. He was on my first backpacking trip. And he joined me for the last week on both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails.
Leo also worked in the same hospital as Tim and I. He's always been an older brother type to me. When I was younger, and a bit more shy and awkward around women, he was the one who gave me advice. Almost 20 years later, I am now just awkward. ;-)
The three of us have spent more time drinking beer, shooting the breeze, working on our AMC era Jeeps (Just Empty Every Pocket!) and more shenanigans than should be mentioned in a nominally family friendly site.
Though Tim has been to Colorado (and even went on the road trip to help me move out here), Leo has not visited me in nearly eight years since I've been here. Having two young children tends to make time a rare commodity.
This past weekend, he finally came out. Along with Tim, we spent three too-short days hanging out in Boulder, going to Rocky Mountain National Park, drinking some beer and again affirming why we've been friends for over fifteen years. I could write about showing off "my mountains" to Leo, or how pleased Leo was to bump into Jess when we were sitting on an outside deck one evening (My first time visiting you and I see Jess! It must mean something!). But I won't.
Sufficient to say that the weekend, though short, shows how when you get three guys who've known each other for so long, it doesn't matter what you do. It is the friendship that counts. Everything else we do is just gravy.
You end up knowing people in the same neighborhood, who go the same schools, who work at the same places for part time jobs while in school, you work in the same area you grew up in, marry someone who also grew up in the same area, you buy a home together, have children and repeat.
If you are a person who has a bit of wanderlust, it can be a stifling environment when an adult. Other people don't leave the community...why are you leaving?
But one positive part of this environment is that the friendships you develop tend to last long. Their is a shared history that goes back many years and goes well into the future.
I have two friends I've known for a long time. Though I am 2000 miles away from them, Leo and Tim are still close friends.
Tim went to the same Catholic elementary school as I. We both worked as orderlies at the same local hospital. He was on my first backpacking trip. And he joined me for the last week on both the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails.
Leo also worked in the same hospital as Tim and I. He's always been an older brother type to me. When I was younger, and a bit more shy and awkward around women, he was the one who gave me advice. Almost 20 years later, I am now just awkward. ;-)
The three of us have spent more time drinking beer, shooting the breeze, working on our AMC era Jeeps (Just Empty Every Pocket!) and more shenanigans than should be mentioned in a nominally family friendly site.
Though Tim has been to Colorado (and even went on the road trip to help me move out here), Leo has not visited me in nearly eight years since I've been here. Having two young children tends to make time a rare commodity.
This past weekend, he finally came out. Along with Tim, we spent three too-short days hanging out in Boulder, going to Rocky Mountain National Park, drinking some beer and again affirming why we've been friends for over fifteen years. I could write about showing off "my mountains" to Leo, or how pleased Leo was to bump into Jess when we were sitting on an outside deck one evening (My first time visiting you and I see Jess! It must mean something!). But I won't.
Sufficient to say that the weekend, though short, shows how when you get three guys who've known each other for so long, it doesn't matter what you do. It is the friendship that counts. Everything else we do is just gravy.
A promotional pic from Red Stripe. Great pic. Lousy beer! (Leo, Tim, me)
posted by Paul Mags at 10:05 AM
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