Tuesday, May 09, 2006

But That Was Long Ago

The maudlin recollection of missed opportunities has haunted me, recently. A snippet of a familiar song dragged me through time and space to the trip south to Lethbridge. The time - a multitude of different long-weekends, start-of-semesters, and so on.

So often I would make my way down there and make my way back, proud of the fact that I could handle the entire trip in one go. What happened to the rest-stop at the side of the road? A chance to stop and step into the tall rows of whatever grew in the endless fields I drove past?

I saw Lethbridge - and my tie there - too much as a destination rather than a journey. I spent so much time figuratively counting down the days that I missed out on a good portion of my life. The majority of the people I met there were transient in my life - existing, to me, on a temporary basis because they helped to define my time down there. Do I miss the friends I made in Lethbridge? Few of them. And yet, a snippet of a familiar song can drag me back to a time of loneliness where my solitude was absolute, recalling it with a sad fondness. Not a longing but an acknowledgement of a time when things were simpler, and much sadder. I won't dwell on these feelings, but I do think they're worth writing down.

5 comments:

Liam J. said...

But it's the few in Lethbridge that I DO miss. (I can't miss you, Dylan, because you won't go away)

Anonymous said...

Haha! Damn funny stuff.
Re: the blog entry.
I often have the same thoughts about my time living in and spending my summers in Edmonton. Rather than think of the way I wasted some of that time, I prefer to think that even the time of life we consider "wasted" makes us who we are. If you had met Kim at any time in your life before your actual meeting, things may not have conspired to work out and where would you be then?

The real shame is when we spend too much time thinking about those days. They are what they are: footnotes and funny stories in the mosaic of our lives. From Daryl Lafay and the french fry on his back to that bizarre love polygon surrounding that small retarded girl (I can't remember her name) many of you were in love with, these things should be laughed at at and enjoyed, not dwelled on.
Not that you are dwelling. I am just bored because the Anaheim game won't end and it is the last item to put in the paper.
Nice glove by Roloson, eh?

KimLiving said...

Actually, Dylan, Liam and I had originally met back in 2000 but nothing ever happened from it. He wasn't cool enough for me yet so I waited.

Oh, and I also had to stop hating men and get around to giving birth to Nick. I think we were both a bit busy.

I agree with you, though. Life events are about the events and about where they're taking us.

Helen Mueller said...

hey - I heard you've been sick.

Hope you'll be feeling better very soon.

I'll pray for ya!

Helen Mueller said...

soo...nothing going on in Liam's life? "But that was long ago" also describes how long it's been since we've had an update. Come on! I need something to read over here!