K.B.

I hadn't seen my buddy Kevin in over thirty years. I had tried to track him down, heard that he was selling cars in Poway, couldn't find him, then word that he had moved back to Indiana, that lead went cold. I put him on the list of people who sail out of your life forever.

We were part of a group that liked to party and play basketball. We played a lot of hoop. Played the great Fallbrook High squad that went to CIF once a week that wonderful summer, we a bunch of scruffy hippies in our twenties wearing dead shirts, they usually beat us but we gave them some serious competition.

Kevin was a few years older than me, he had gone to the legendary concert at Watkins Glen that ended up dwarfing Woodstock. We saw a lot of Grateful Dead shows together.

He was the best golfer I ever met, shot a 69 at Bajamar, a 66 in a scramble. Beautiful swing, made his money in the weekly money game with a  lot of local club pros. He loved to gamble.

He worked for my family's construction company for a bit. My dad loved him because Buzz and Amos would take him down to the Stardust Club and Kevin even straightened out my dad's awful swing. Dad loved him for that. Life presented Kev with some ups and downs but if you live long enough it will happen to most of us. Don't trust anybody that has never seen the bottom.

Anyway I was so happy he finally got back in touch and I invited him to a basketball game at State. Picked him up yesterday in Escondido, he definitely looked older and he said I looked a lot fatter. 

A couple divorces, grandkids, he brought me up to date. Still golfing and putting an occasional bet down. Loves reggae, turns out that we were unbeknownst, at the same Ziggy Marley concert. Remains the same happy, affable and positive guy he has always been.

We drove to Ocean Beach so I could pick up some hopi kachina dolls I am partnering with Joan.

Afterwards we drove over to Bronx Pizza for a slice but it is now closed Monday and Tuesday so went to Lefty's for hot dogs and a slice instead.

I must have broken some immutable law of food combining because my stomach hurt for the rest of the night.

Sad because I normally treat my body like a temple of god. That is, if the monastery was a medieval torture chamber.

Feels better today but it was a rough night.

We got to the game real early, watched the total workouts for the first time, game was a romp, against a St. Katherine's NAIA school that lives in some warehouse district in San Marcos.

We had a good time.

You get certain friends in this lifetime that you will be tight with forever, no matter what. Too much common history and experience, you get these unbreakable bonds.

I have been blessed with many of them, friendships that have lasted four and five decades.

Love to all of you.

Looking forward to hanging out with my good buddy again. Measure your life in friendships, not money.