Thump...

Why does the dropping of the second shoe get all the attention? There would be no second shoe without the first.


“Are you alright?” ask that of me and it depends on who you are what kind of answer you get.

If you’re just someone I know – “things are fantastic”

If you’re an acquaintance – “things are okay”

If you’re a friend – I will think a brief moment then say “Yeah” and then turn my focus to you, look you in the eye and add “and you?”

Someone I know died of a heart attach shoveling snow. This someone was respected and famous, I’m not certain how wide the fame reached.

A friend of a friend, that’s how we met, that’s how I know most of the respected and famous and to some extent that’s how they know me. I prefer it this way, I like as less direct contact as possible, I like the buffer zone, I like phone calls channeled through friends.

This friend of friend needed something fixed or installed or just looked at to make an informed decision on what to do next, I forget what it was that was actually needed. I remember entering his house to a private space, a space that I imagine a lot of writers have, a space not for public consumption. The nature of the space was why I was there, it wasn’t particularly because of my skills but because I could be trusted, he didn’t want just anyone in there.

I was afforded trust because our mutual friend was trusted, I respected him for that.