Some years ago I started taking a solo trip between Christmas and New Year’s to catch up with friends I’d be unlikely to see again without a specific effort, and after I’d done it a few times I named it the Precious Hearts Tour. It’s such a warm experience to spend time in person, and it ends up being a good reset for me too. (There’s a lot of time in the car to consider things at length.)
First up this year was my friend Cheryl, in South Carolina. A Clemson alumna and resident, Cheryl and I met in 1997 playing the online word game Acrophobia. I actually saw Cheryl on the 2022 Precious Hearts Tour, but she was a slam-dunk for inclusion this year too because she was in the direction of two other folks on the agenda. With a steady soundtrack of laughs, we enjoyed some Indian food-truck fusion for lunch, a trip to the zoo and Falls Park in Greenville, and closed the day out with some tasty Mexican.
I got an early start through the mountains to Asheville, where my old friend and coworker Gaylord met me for brunch. Gaylord and I first worked together at Madison Books and Computers, where I worked in college. We also worked together at Intergraph, which was my first paid job in my field. (She actually called me to apply for an open position in the group she was in.) Best I can figure, this was my first time to see Gaylord in 27 years. She is as intelligent, witty, and kind as I remember. It didn’t feel like any time had passed.
From Asheville I had planned to go to Southport, on the NC Atlantic coast, to have dinner with my sweet friend Keri and her husband. Keri is one of the only friends I’ve kept from college (and easily the best one). Alas, she had a last-minute family situation and had to cancel. I’ll pick her back up sometime in the next few years.
So…what to do? Now there’s a hole in my agenda. I decided to make a reservation in Charlotte and go to the aquarium. However, I didn’t research the aquarium very rigorously, and that was a mistake. It’s embedded in a massive retail/entertainment complex that’s at least two-thirds of a mile long. After I arrived it took me another five minutes to even see the entrance, and the parking lot was packed all the way to the perimeter road. After my retreat to consider my options, it didn’t take me very long to decide that the $29 I’d spent on a ticket would have to be the fee to preserve my peace. I ate the admission and checked in early. (Lesson for future occurrences came from Lea: given unexpected free time, look for a history museum or something similarly low-key.) I had some serviceable teppanyaki for dinner and turned in early to watch most of The Beast In Me.
The next morning I finished all but the last episode and set off for Newnan, Georgia, where one of my oldest friends Karin lives. Karin and I were at Oxford High School together (and bandmates), and if I’ve headed at all east on my annual trip, I almost always see her. We returned to microchain Nic & Norman’s in Senoia for dinner, where they make some of the finest burgers I’ve ever been served.
(Despite being a lovely natural blonde, Karin likes having her photo taken less than any other person I know that I can recall, so I don’t ask her very often. You can see her as well as the Thagards (see below) on this post if you want to.)
A leisurely Monday morning found me with an hour I’d get back driving west and no commitments until noon CST, so I had some Marriott breakfast and continued The Beast In Me, stopping after seven of the eight episodes. I then set off for the Oxford/Anniston area, where I spent several of my formative years. I checked on my old house, as I always do, and marveled all over again at how small everything seems to me now. (The “big hill” I used to ride my bike up to get home might be a five-minute walk. Stuff like that.) Then, I met my fourth-grade English teacher Mrs. Thagard and her husband (that’s Mr. and Mrs. T. to Donoho students) for lunch, which I try to do at least annually. Mrs. T. was the first person to instill a genuine love of language in me, and that love has been nourishing and lucrative ever since. It’s always so much fun to catch up with them.
I turned the crank for just over 1100 miles this time, and I’ve returned as thankful for my friends and my contemplation as I always do.