Faithful Friends....

Orignally this was to be a fun, highly energized post about a Christmas week meeting with a new friend in downtown Chicago. And I will, indeed, get to it. But right now, I just need to share a bit.

These last three, count 'em, three holiday seasons have found me in a kind of mourning. It's just the luck of life's draw, of course, but still it's an exhausting, emotionally debilitating kind of experience to emerge from.

2007 saw the tragic passing of my college roommate at his own hand on Christmas Day. He was in trouble and kept it all to himself. Never married, never told anyone to my knowledge of his mire of pain. I found out in a newspaper. Thankfully I was able to attend services, but it was quite a week.

2008 offered the death of an actor/stage manager friend due to cancer on New Year's Eve. He'd been fighting it for a while, and he showed a lot of balls in the fight. I admire how he handled it to this day.

2009...Christmas Eve morning, to be precise...was a repeat of last year. Another actor friend of mine that I had known for well over 20 years. Same illness as the previous friend. His family withdrew from life to deal with it privately in hospice. Naturally, it had to be respected, but dammit, I surely would have loved to offer a handshake and some kindness. His funeral is tomorrow.

I'm tired. I'm dealing fine, but I do wish that this would stop. I have lots on the horizon to look forward to...changes in my life that will be quite remarkable. But I didn't need the confirmation of tragedy to tell me that these holidays are always challenging in my life. I know I sound a bit immature here, but sometimes... well, sometimes you have to exercise the right to question why...