This Saturday night I attended the Fall Dinner hosted by the Yolo County Cattlemen's and Woolgrowers Association in the thriving metropolis of Zamora Ca. Zamora is little more than a off-ramp on I-5 with a stop-and-rob market, a town hall and the local volunteer fire station. The event is a great time to meet the local ranchers and farmers, have a New York steak dinner and drink as much as you can for $30. I have long since given up on the drinking part, so they make a little more profit on me, this is offset to a great degree by some of my friends.
It is also a chance to catch up with some people I haven't seen in years. Having lived in, out, then back in Yolo County for the past 23 years, I have met many friends over the years, but as things change, I kept close with only a handful. I'm sure you have had similar experiences, when you are single, and out every weekend, you meet a lot of people. As you settle down and stay home, your circle of friends tend to get whittled down. Not that the others have done something wrong, you just loose touch as you move around, change jobs or get married.
I ran into a few of my old friends, and as conversations often do, they turned to the old days. We laughed about the fun times we had and crazy things we did. We exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch. Someone suggested we get together for a poker game some night, and everyone agreed. It sounds like fun.
A word of caution about 'the good ol'days', you can get caught up in a reckless pursuit of those times. Someone once told me that you can waste you life chasing after the good times you had by constantly trying to relive them. I agree.
I think back to fall evening sitting around a fire at a deer camp with two of my best friends after a successful day of hunting. The sunset was a wonderful mixture of oranges and purples and we sat back in our folding chairs sipping bourbon and just letting that day wash over us. That was a perfect day. A day that we couldn't recreate if tried a hundred times. The trick, I have found out, is to recognize those times as they are happening.
Life is what you make of my friends, life is happening right now, let it happen and find those perfect moments.
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Years ago in a past and younger life, I knew a sheep rancher and his wife in Zamora. Had a lazy Sunday afternooon on their huge wrap-around porch sipping on mint julips, learning about his various sheep as well as his law practice. Great people. Neat place. A different and probably healthier way of life.
Nice post.
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