For Jared

My Dear Old Friend Jared,

Remember when we went to Paris back in ’07? We popped our heads into that fantastic cave of a bar in the Latin Quarter. We would spend hours at that bar throughout our time in Paris. You would go into your intellectual musings with those fun Brazilian girls and smoke your cigarettes, while I anxiously awaited the rendezvous with that cute French waiter on his motorbike in the wee hours of the night.

You would later snap this photo of me there in the daylight hours before the bar opened.

You were basically my guide when we were in Paris, back when I had no clue how to travel. I had no sense of orientation for the things we saw or the things we did. I just followed you around like a lost puppy, waiting for my next foie gras meal.

So you can imagine my surprise when I was in Paris last month…walking aimlessly along Rue Descartes…and feeling a familiarity in the air. My eyes darted around furiously, and I thought, “Have I been here before?”

As I rounded a curve in the road, I found myself approaching this familiar looking hole in the wall!

My, how things have changed. El Melocoton has changed. Paris has changed. Our friendship has changed. To say your life has changed since we recently re-connected would be an egregious understatement.

I look forward to seeing you again, old friend. I think about you and your family often, with heartfelt prayers.

Love,
Thy