Friends

Max Stalling, a Texas Honky Tonk Singer/songwriter did a song last year that went, "I got friends from there to here, the payoff from all those ramblin' years. If friends were gold, I'd be a king I guess. But friendships better than golden crowns, havin' a bunch won't weigh you down, that's the price of a life of travellin' light."
Thanks Max, your words grabbed me by the throat. Our ramblin' years in the 70's sure produced some golden friends and we've been having some delightful evenings with so many of them.. I had a wonderful night with Mike and Lynn Spencer in Okato where their "farm"/pottery has been transformed into a botanical paradise. I could sit for hours with these two fascinating souls....it is just so easy to pick up where we left off 6 years ago. Then we met the joyous Sue Plyler in Auckland. She is ALWAYS so much fun and toured us all over the Auckland area. Sue was a godsend when we took the boys to NZ and she will always be remembered for so incredible nights in New Orleans at Mardi Grais. Aaah the memories.
We ended up with a spare day and went to Hamilton to see our dear friends Lloyd and Helen Clarke. They were my backbone in '74 when my dad died and they became great friends who even spent a California week with us in SF and Yosemite where the laughing never stopped. Recently one of their five beautiful kids stopped by with his wife and visited in Klamath. Just the best.