Reunion Time

Each year some friends of mine and me have an annual reunion. There were originally 9 guys - one has since passed away from cancer. Another guy has prostrate cancer and of course there's me with leukemia. These are guys some of whom I've known since I was 10 years old and over 20 years ago we all decided it would be fun to have a reunion once a year where we go away for a weekend to a place somehow connected to our past. As teenagers, we were all close. These are the kind of friends you make as a kid that have no equal to the friends you make later in life. There isn't anything you can't say to them. In fact, if you don't "cap" on them, they want to know if you're ok. Best friends in the world. We're known as the "fokkers" One of the guys is a lawyer and he gets no end of shit from the rest of us. Me - I'm the guy in the upper right of the picture.

This year I was chosen to be in charge and get us a place, so I found a house on the Russian River with 8 beds, hot tub, etc. (At our age we keep saying it should be in a nursing home). It's important to get the separate beds, for as close as we are, we ain't sleepin with each other.

In the beginning, we actually went places, did stuff, not all of which was legal, and generally had a blast. As time moves on, we find ourselves spending more time sitting around and bullshitting and latetly bullshitting about our health. Yet, we all go away laughing and happy and looking forward to next year's reunion.

When I was diagnosed, one guy had already passed on and I emailed everyone else with an email titled "the 2nd to go"describing my condition and all related stuff. Last year the reunion was a bit more somber, but only for an hour or so until I got all the questions everyone had for me out of the way.

For me, this reunion is especially important now for it gives me a respite from all the crap
happening in my life. I am really looking forward to it.