I heard from two people I wasn't expecting to today. One was good, the other not so great.
Chris is a friend of mine from kindergarten. Really. We've known each other literally since we were about four years old. His parents still live just up the block from mine in Great Falls. He's one of a handful of people that I went to school with from kindergarten through senior year and the only one I keep up with in any meaningful fashion. Chris also helped me survive grad school by virtue of having a toll-free work number where I could reach him from the pay phone in the library. Taxpayers of Montana, I apologize, for there were not many conversations on this line involving admission to Montana State University. Chris was nice enough to take my calls when I'm sure that I wasn't too much fun to talk with, given my general depressed graduate school state of mind. My mother, the other possessor of a toll-free line during this time in my life, does not recall it fondly. I can still picture the spot in the Cross Campus Library where I always made my calls to Chris. I would bargain with myself about reading a few more pages in my economics text or a few more exercises in my Czech homework and THEN I could call. Worked relatively well. He later paid me back for the at-work ramblings by calling my place of business and telling the receptionist things like he was my priest. Now, Chris is my friend with the most interesting job of all the people I know. He's a singing gondolier link at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
Anyway, Chris called out of the blue today and told me he's coming to Montana for the Cat-Griz game this weekend. We're hoping to be able to see each other for the first time in years, which would be great.
While I was gabbing with Chris, I got a voice mail from my cousin Amy, who is also my lifelong friend. Her mom, my Aunt Peg, has suffered from emphysema for a long time. Her health has been bad for quite some time, but she has quite quickly taken a turn for the worse. She is in hospice care in Helena, so Connery and I will be driving there tomorrow to meet my parents and try to lend support. Peg is one of the most gentle and loving people I've ever known, and my heart breaks for my cousins. It's far too early for any of us to be losing parents.