Perfect Day

"It's such a perfect day, i'm glad i spent it with you."

and at 2pm on Saturday, September 2, Labor Day weekend started...

an hour to get out of the city due to eastbound bay bridge closure
not so bad
beautiful coastal drive to bodega bay, stop at Hog Island Oyster company to pick up delicious oysters and clams for bbq
crazy run-in with friends of friend there
friends are everywhere
arrive to camp at bodega dunes.
setup
hangout
feeling time with friends who are moving away.
this is our last time. we feel it as much as possible.
loving loving loving their dog who is dying. who is not old. who should not die.
cancer
drink some drinks, laugh some laughs, poke the fire.
go to bed.
get up get ready it's time for goodbyes soon.
friend (D) says, It's a morning full of heartbreak.
she is quiet in her heartbreak.
i cry tears i don't let anyone see.
i climb a tree.
guy and i pack it up
we are leaving for another adventure somewhere down the road don't know where just pack it up.
goodbyes.
we cry.
we cry and hug and i kiss cheeks and awkwardly grasp arms
the tears are so in my face i can't talk
i am speechless with emotion

these are guy's friends from long ago. they have been a team, a group, inseperable for 16 years about, a long time about, inseperable being seperated
it's huge
i am a small observer. i was invited in. i was graciously taken in
i am a small blip on this big screen and i am overwhelmed
the tears have filled up my face

we get in the car. close the door. drive away. silent
we cry and cry. silently. i wonder
how can i stop this, how can we move on, what should i do,
what's next. guy says, I've never said goodbye to someone i knew would be dead before i could see her again. he's talking about the sweet dog, the lama girl. the lama lama ding dong. the dog who never scared me, the dog phobic.



i suggest a plan. it's decadent. the idea of it gets us out of our funk. we start driving inland towards occidental where we hope to get a room.
the one lane drive is sweet. rolling through rolling hills. beautiful.
we arrive. because we are we and we so often do get what we want when we have no expectations, we get a room.
shower.
sleep.
the emotion is exhausting.
up later.
dinner.
delicious.
encrusted halibut on top of basil mashed potatoes sitting in creamy lobster sauce flanked by teeny little greenbeans and roasted tomatoes
unbelievably delicious
we are seated in the back. we spend a lot of money
seated in the back
camping clothes. probably a camping smell.
funny.
go to hotel
go to sleep
get up
drive to point reyes station. we eat chocolate marijuana balls i bought in the park from a sophisticated and pioneering kind of chef. we stop in point reyes and get a drink at the saloon where prince charles once drank. we have some cocktails as the balls kick in. we are suddenly hilarious and delirious and laughing. we leave
go to art gallery
look at great art
it's an auction!
we bid on three pieces. we are so high.
we leave.
i feel like i just escaped an art vacuum.
get in the car,
keep driving on down the road.
reach fairfax in marin.
little miss sunshine is playing.
we say, Hey, let's see that movie!
i tell guy, knowing us, it's starting in 15 minutes.
sure enough, i'm only five minutes off.
we laugh, enjoy the movie. leave, drive home.
no traffic.

we have turned 36 in these few days.

i think of my friend (w) who says that our lives are like that lou reed song, Perfect Day.
she knows what she's talking about.


Perfect Day
by Lou Reed
1972

Just a perfect day,
Drink Sangria in the park,
And then later, when it gets dark,
We go home.
Just a perfect day,
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later, a movie, too,
And then home.

Oh it's such a perfect day,
I'm glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.

Just a perfect day,
Problems all left alone,
Weekenders on our own.
It's such fun.
Just a perfect day,
You made me forget myself.
I thought I was someone else,
Someone good.

Oh it's such a perfect day,
I'm glad I spent it with you.
Oh such a perfect day,
You just keep me hanging on,
You just keep me hanging on.

You're going to reap just what you sow,
You're going to reap just what you sow,
You're going to reap just what you sow,
You're going to reap just what you sow...