Do you have a friend that you only see on occasion, but when you get together, it's like no time has passed at all? Nothing seems forced or rushed. I'm not talking about that friend that you sit up gabbing to all through the night, just savoring every ounce of catching up that you can squeeze in. That seems like a relationship between women. I am talking about that superficial guy type of relationship where tortillas can explode and the fun still continues. There is no weeping or mewling. You know them. They know you. The point of getting together is to have fun, to relax, and to be silly. I have such a friend.I realize that some may think that such a relationship sounds shallow and empty, that it lacks depth and breadth and true feelings. But for me, such a relationship contains a deep value and importance. We enjoy our time together because we have connected as friends. We don't have to pretend to be anything that we are not. After having lunch or dinner together, or just sitting around chewing the fat, I am usually left with cramps in my sides from laughing so much. This is not the kind of laughter borne from nervous edginess or from trying to fit in or to appear agreeable. This is the type of laughter that comes from deep down inside that brings healing. It stays with you and lightens you of the things that burden you down in life.
We had dinner the other night at a little Mexican joint that I know in a nearby strip mall. Nothing big or fancy. The kind of place where no two pieces of silverware match. We met after a long day of work. As it was getting late, I was quite hungry and immediately set to work assembling myself a chicken tortilla as soon as the food hit the table. I could just tell that it was ready to burst in my mouth with its yummy goodnessTM. I suppose that in my haste, I did fill that tortilla a little full, perhaps a bit too full. As I bit down on one end, there was an unexpected build-up of pressure at the other. The thin torilla could not contain the enormity of the deliciousnous and ruptured, sending a saucy missile hurtling across the table. I was powerless to stop it. As the liquid munition twisted through the air, the whole world immediately fell into slow motion. I yelled out "Nooooooo!". His defenseless plate of tortillas paid a heavy price. He looked up at me shaking his head and said, "Did you just goob on my torillas?". Oh the humanity! The senseless loss. You know what, he didn't even ask to be reseated. Now that's a good friend.
