Road Trips and Old Friends
I was listening to the radio and a song came on that reminded me of the trip to Washington, DC Joe and I took in November 1998. We were sitting around one evening and he wanted to take a road trip. I had never done something so spontaneous. At the time we didn't have any dogs, just a cat who would be fine by himself for a day or so.
I made a few phone calls, one to my friend Jason who lived in DC and let him know we were coming down. Then we jumped in the car, stopped at Stewart's for gas and coffee. I remember I also got a chocolate and cream cheese muffin. Since then, whenever I have a chocolate and cream cheese muffin, I think of our trip.
I will save the details of the trip, my first time in the nation's Capital for another time. Really, that is almost like a footnote anyway. While it was exciting to see things I had only heard about, the journey was really more important than the destination.
I was always the kind of person who had to plan everything in advance...way in advance, until that night. Even a trip to Buffalo or Niagara Falls, which is much shorter was something I would plan for weeks, if not months. Yet here I was driving through states I had never been through with my new husband.
A sad part of this trip is it was the last time I ever saw my friend Jason. Jason is a friend I made working on Clinton/Gore. When we met he was just a high school kid. We had remained friends through his college days even though he was in Florida. We kept in touch via snail mail and phone calls. When Joe and I got married 3 months earlier, Jason came up for the wedding and even caught the garter.
Jason had a silliness about him that always made me laugh. We both had the same twisted sense of humor. I have to say that seeing him was the best sight that I saw while in Washington. Only at that time I had no idea it would be the last time. I called him about a month later and his phone was disconnected. I always thought he would pop up again, but he never did.
A few months later is when Joe started truck driving, and I went on the road with him. So, for almost two years Jason wouldn't have had a way to contact me if he wanted to. I think of him often, and I called his Mom once I returned home for good, leaving a message that I was trying to get in touch with him, but my call was never returned. The last time I was him he had been working for a Congressman, but mentioned that he was thinking of moving to California and becoming a bartender. I remember being surprised when he mentioned it because it was so *not* Jason.
We had only known each other for 6 years, which I suppose in the grand scheme of life isn't a long time, but he was a dear friend and I really wonder what became of him.
I made a few phone calls, one to my friend Jason who lived in DC and let him know we were coming down. Then we jumped in the car, stopped at Stewart's for gas and coffee. I remember I also got a chocolate and cream cheese muffin. Since then, whenever I have a chocolate and cream cheese muffin, I think of our trip.
I will save the details of the trip, my first time in the nation's Capital for another time. Really, that is almost like a footnote anyway. While it was exciting to see things I had only heard about, the journey was really more important than the destination.
I was always the kind of person who had to plan everything in advance...way in advance, until that night. Even a trip to Buffalo or Niagara Falls, which is much shorter was something I would plan for weeks, if not months. Yet here I was driving through states I had never been through with my new husband.
A sad part of this trip is it was the last time I ever saw my friend Jason. Jason is a friend I made working on Clinton/Gore. When we met he was just a high school kid. We had remained friends through his college days even though he was in Florida. We kept in touch via snail mail and phone calls. When Joe and I got married 3 months earlier, Jason came up for the wedding and even caught the garter.
Jason had a silliness about him that always made me laugh. We both had the same twisted sense of humor. I have to say that seeing him was the best sight that I saw while in Washington. Only at that time I had no idea it would be the last time. I called him about a month later and his phone was disconnected. I always thought he would pop up again, but he never did.
A few months later is when Joe started truck driving, and I went on the road with him. So, for almost two years Jason wouldn't have had a way to contact me if he wanted to. I think of him often, and I called his Mom once I returned home for good, leaving a message that I was trying to get in touch with him, but my call was never returned. The last time I was him he had been working for a Congressman, but mentioned that he was thinking of moving to California and becoming a bartender. I remember being surprised when he mentioned it because it was so *not* Jason.
We had only known each other for 6 years, which I suppose in the grand scheme of life isn't a long time, but he was a dear friend and I really wonder what became of him.
posted by Doxiehuahua at
Monday, January 24, 2005
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