...So the others retired to the kiosk,
Only to discover the cakes iced a peculiar shade of green
And the tea-urn empty
Save for a card on which was written the single word:
Farewell.
What is it about November that makes people want to move? Seems like everybody's doing it.
In the virtual world, on my very own bloglist, Megnut, Burke and Wells, Expiration Date and Dooce are all on the verge or in the throes of moving. And in the real world, today Chicago said goodbye to our own Cokokat, who is moving with her husband to take a turn at small-town living.
All this moving makes me feel a little wistful, for no good reason. I certainly have changed residences enough times in the last few years; there were years I should have invested in leading packing tape manufacturers. What I miss is the sense of Big Adventure.
Now, make no mistake: Big Adventure is certainly a lot more desirable when it's happening to someone else. When Big Adventure makes its way back around to me, you can count on me reacting with a howl of fury, at least in my bad moments. I will back into a big opportunity with my eyes shut if I can at all help it. It's just my hard wiring.
For the moment, though, I'm on the sidelines. Fortunately, we are good at keeping track of our friends. We visit them wherever, in Indiana or in Seattle or in North Outerwear, WI.
Still, it is hard to say goodbye. At the last minute, after the stuffed peppers and the rum cake and the stories about our old school, I kept stumbling over the idea that there was something I borrowed that I should give back, or something I loaned out that I should ask for. What are we dealing in here--a book, a CD, a piece of clothing? In the end, what is the currency of friendship?
I kept looking around for the answer, because it seemed important to do one more thing.
The currency is memory. The currency is today. The currency is tomorrow.
See you soon.
This is the text of the famous Gorey book quoted above, although it seems to have gotten the chronology wrong, or maybe they are just trying to evade the lawyers.
Posted at November 25, 2002 08:48 PM