The Wandering Dudes: Laughing

            Yesterday I was inducted as a made-man in the Delhi Mafia at a secret location in Cincinnati, Ohio. That was nice, but the after-induction party was better. We laughed until our stomachs hurt. That’s something that folks don’t do enough where I’m from.

            I think it results from the old fundamentalist belief that having fun is sinful. I know peoples who haven’t laughed, ever in their life, until tears rolled down their cheeks.

            Sad.

            The other thing that I took from yesterday was the fact that friendship is like a plant that grows and spreads if nurtured. I came to this place the first time because of one person I knew 37 years earlier. Now, ten years later, I have an entire group of friends with whom I get together when I come to town.

            Nice.

            They come in all sizes and shapes, these friends on the old Ohio River. What’s odd to me is how they have retained connections from their childhood. In the Delta, kids have a tendency to move away. Even if they do here, they come back when they can and rekindle friendships.

            Admirable.

            So, another day starts “up Nawth.” We’ll see. I’ll bet we have fun though. And I’ll bet sometime today we will laugh until tears roll down our cheeks.

            Exciting.

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. - Ralph Waldo Emerson