I ordered two shots of orange vodka. “That’ll take the edge off,” I smiled slightly.
“Yeah, for both of us,” Dee returned my half-smile.
Dee is one of my best friends and a party promoter. After recently losing his father, Dee was throwing himself into work as much as possible. Sunday night was the first night for a new weekly event, Soulful Sunday “The Perfect Chill” at Doc’s Place in Shadyside. It was also the night for my first poetry reading in over two years. I was nervous because I hadn’t read in so long, and because I would be reading a lot of new material.
“To your reading,” Dee proposed a toast. We clinked glasses and threw it back. The DJ was getting set up, and the night was just getting started. I hugged Dee and headed off to my reading.
There, two more of my best friends came to support me, Mindy and Roger. After the reading, they were full of praise. Roger said he would handle promotion for my book, and I believe he meant it. I dropped by brownie icing first on the carpet, and Mindy snagged the last one for me. I write all this to say: I am blessed, truly blessed. In this lifetime, we are lucky if we have one true friend, and I am blessed with an abundance. I hope that I am able to be there for them as much as they have been there for me. My friends, I hope you know who you are, and I hope you know I am always here for you and I love you.
Excelsior! 