remembrance of things past

“When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste: Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow, For precious friends hid in death's dateless night, And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe, And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight: Then can I grieve at grievances foregone, And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan, Which I new pay as if not paid before. But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end.”.. William Shakespeare

an old friend reconnected on facebook on sunday evening. i loved the process, but it certainly brought melancholy with it. the days of our friendship were the early 80's and those times are so bittersweet. i met her while i was working at a restaurant called "tango" which was in the belmont hotel on lake shore drive in chicago. she was bartending at a sister restaurant called the brewery.

i believe we became fast friends. she was beautiful, she was very creative, and she was quite fashion forward. she was into the b52's, the clash, laura nyro, and marianne faithful. these were not typical pastimes for the contemporary women i would meet. i found her fascinating and compelling. so did many others. she quickly developed a following at her bar and her social calendar was fairly full.

we developed a clique that morphed into a sort of street gang. we didn't get into fights or spray graffiti. our style was more internalized. we drank lots and read books- mostly lgbt literature- and would have mini-salons and get together to discuss what we read. this morphed into being visible with what we were doing, so we adopted a uniform and took to the streets, quoting kerouac and woolf on street corners just like pentacostal preachers -only without the soapbox.

as is the way, our lives changed. jobs changed, apartments changed, lovers changed, and interests changed. but the moments that were will always be. i am happy to have heard from her- gotta love facebook for that alone- and i wish her well. loved her dearly- allways will. a few of those faces are smiling no more. but it is sweet to remember..

today's sound choice is the ting ting's with shut up and let me go...

The Ting Tings - Shut Up And Let Me Go
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