Over
the years my travels have taken
me
to some deep and dark places. Oh,
and
along the way there were also those
resplendent
and sunny days. I spent far
too
much time lingering in boxed can-
yon
badlands trying to negotiate a way
of
escape. I have known too many who
never
made it out of the confounding
dead
ends of their own undoing. I am
reminded
of a train trip I took years ago
from
Sydney to Newcastle, Australia.
It
was a long trip, for it sent me from
daylight
to darkness in a foreign land
with
which I was totally unfamiliar. Pas-
sengers
continued to disembark at the
many
stops along the way, and no new
ones
boarded to replace them. I began
to
wonder, was Newcastle really a des-
tination
I wanted to see? Well, it was late
evening
when I finally arrived, and I was
the
only one left on the train. I stepped
down
from the car, and there was no
one
at the station. (I swear, this was the
stuff
of Twilight Zone Episodes.) The
nearest
pub and some shots of vodka
and
schooners of beer helped temporarily
alleviate
some of the pain and fear. This
ludicrous
and habitual behavior of mine
explains
why I may have obliterated mem-
ories
of you and others from my past. I am
truly
sorry for leaving you and your friend-
ship
behind. I was drunk and depressed.
I
was self-absorbed and blind. Ah, but I am
dry
today, and being old and gray and for-
getful
in my way, I remember only some of
that
which has long since been drowned. I
do
thank you, however, for reuniting with
and
reminding me. It has been a long ride
alone
from the darkness of night into a light
of
this new and more sobering day.
Chris
Hanch 5-6-19
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