The Things I Keep.

Why do I love the rain so, I wonder? Does that make me weird? Or should I say, does that make me weirder than most weird people? My friends don't seem to think so. Then again, maybe they have simply grown accustomed to my odd behavior. The latter is a definite possibility. As for my newer friends, they don't seem to mind my weirdness either. Personally, I just chalk it up as a character flaw that people seem to find charming and endearing.

I love my friends. I love them so much that I think I'd love them even if I hated them. (I know that might not make sense now but read that again in a minute or two. Trust me. It will.) My latest new friend is Shannon. I swear, there's something about her that reminds me of me. She's a dreamer; has a big heart that shines right through. Cool peoples all around. She in turn is best friends with my Polish brother from another mother, Artie. I met them both at The Wild Rover Pub in Guttenberg. Through whom, you ask? Well, I was introduced by none other than my cousin Aramis (Junior), who's always been the closest I've had to a little brother. I can talk to him about anything and he's always got my back.

Speaking of having my back, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my big brother Eric. He, who, surprisingly married before me and is expecting his first born next month. He, in turn, is married to BB. One of my most loving and, by far, one of the most generous people I've ever met. She'd buy you a small country if you put it on your Christmas wish list. She also has a great ear so she's always been a great listener. I'm SO glad those two got together.

Oh! And while we're on the subject of great listeners, how could I leave out my favorite beach buddies? Bubbles and Tyger. God! If those two even hear waves crashing on the shore, they take off in a dead run! Seriously! I've actually witnessed that. Incidentally, I didn't see the beach, not even once, this summer because the two of them weren't around. Moreover, I love them both because they constantly remind me not to stray to far away from the light as I am normally inclined to do. It's very difficult to be depressed around those two especially if they're together.

Why am I getting so mushy, you ask? Why so sentimental? Why think on old and new friends? No reason. This isn't a suicide note. (Quite frankly, I don't believe in suicide but even if I did, the goodbye letter would be about 500 pages long.) It's just something I've been thinking about after having a conversation with my cute little blondie, Bubbles. It's something she said when I made it a point that we should hang out more. (I may have made that point whilst being a bit too much attitude.) She quelled my annoyance with the quaint little observation that we never hung out that often in the first place before she got with her man. It was a simple little sentence but it made me think about the rest of my friends.

I rarely see any of them as much as I would've a decade or two ago. I wrote if off as being an adult and being busy and stuff of that nature but the truth is, with my conflicting work schedule and everyone else's responsibilities, it's hard to see them. It's very difficult to hang out. Moreover, we don't all have the same tastes in hang out spots even if we did when we first met. As for my other best friend, she doesn't even live in the great state of New Jersey anymore (miss you, Tyger!) so we only catch up on IM's, text and emails but we can't hang out that way.

Lately, I've been working on my minimalist movement, of sorts. It's something I mentioned in a previous blog about getting rid of things you don't need or don't use. I was thinking about applying that same mentality to my friends list. Not my Facebook list. My actual list of friends. However, that only lasted for a split second. Friends are the one thing in my life that will always remain constant. Furthermore, I rarely ever try to make new friends because I have all that I need with the ones I have now. Nevertheless, I always manage to find a way to make new acquaintances and once that happens, I find it difficult to ever let them go from my heart or memory. In all seriousness, I find it difficult to let go of friends I haven't talked to in awhile or don't keep in contact with. To this day, I wonder how Taz and Lucci are doing. I rarely ever talk to either of them but I worry about my Marine brethren to this day.

No. I can't downsize my actual friend list. Once you're in my thoughts and in my heart and soul, you're there for good; you're there to stay for as long as my heart keeps beating and then some. I keep the friends I make. If for nothing else, I guess it's just another character flaw. Perhaps the people that I meet can sense that about me. Maybe that's why they stay.

Reading this blog again, I've realized that I've left out countless other people. Moreover, them being the friends they are will probably wonder why I left them out of this mentioning of friends on a blog that, odds are, no one ever reads. Some may even make a big deal about it and that's cool. If I make friends that worry about me not mentioning them then I must be doing something right. If nothing else, that lets me know that I have good taste in friends because any friend of mine that is proud to say they know me is worth keeping.