Their names are Hanne and Peer.
And the names alone are kind of perfect. We met them about a year ago at one of our favorite watering holes here in town. They’d come to Sarasota from Texas and here they were asking the beautiful bartender who we know well...surprised?...didn’t think so...about restaurant recommendations. And the bartender said,”You should ask these two.” And so we met and proceeded to have a nice conversation about restaurants and all kinds of other things. And it was smart – check. And it was funny – check. And they’re very attractive in that glow-y way that is the birth right of great Danes – checkpoint!
We saw them again before they left to go back home and had a similarly lovely evening. So nice.
Time passes – a year to be exact – and this week I received a text with a photo of these two beautiful blond people who clearly aren’t from here, or Texas for that matter. Glow-y, like I said. And they’re back. And they missed us. And we’re touched and so happy.
So, we got together last night for dinner and had a non-stop laugh-fest/talk-fest that lasted for what seemed like ever, in the best possible sense. Dinner and a show, as we like to say. And while my ear drums may have been pounding out a beat with which I am unfamiliar this morning, I’m still smiling.
One of life’s great joys, I think, is making new friends when you least expect it, and sharing stories and finding common ground. The key is to be open to it and welcoming. The Muse and I have been very blessed in this regard and we are deeply appreciative of our good fortune. Getting older doesn’t suck as long as you just stay out of your own way, stand up straight and smile. We will see our new friends again, and it won’t take a full year. And we can start looking forward to it now.
The best thing about new friends is they become dear old friends immediately, when it clicks. One of my daughters of choice once said about me that I’d never met a stranger. I thought of that last night. Isn’t that a wonderful thing to say?
Den største gave i livet er venskab, og jeg har fået det.
(The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it.)
– traditional Danish quote