countdown to Andy

Well, my artist friend from LA (I'll call him Andy) is back in our hometown and tomorrow's the day I'll be seeing him. I realized last night that it has been 29 years (almost to the day) since we met. Until we reconnected on Facebook about 2 months ago, I hadn't a clue about where he went or what he was doing. In fact, he rarely crossed my mind.

But since then, since seeing his artwork, I have become intrigued. He has a way with words (in his art) that moves me. And you know how I feel about that. It's the essence of joy, this being moved thing.

He announced he'd be visiting his family back home in late July and I jumped on board asking if we could get together. Since then I've been trying to remember my time with Andy, but with little success. There were a few funny details lingering in the cobwebs of my brain, but I couldn't access much more than that.

My memory is not one of my better assets, so I was damn thankful that I had my diaries to reference. (I have diaries documenting every day of my life from 1978 to 2001. I gave it up finally because I decided I had become compulsive about keeping it and it really felt like a chore more than a choice.)

Anyway, as I leafed through the pages of 1980, I found my writings about Andy. We had dated in August 1980. It had lasted only about 4 weeks, and I was a very immature 17. I fell in love fast, and it fizzled out fast. For the record, I ended up dumping him at a bar one night because Cam had shown up there and given me that look I couldn't resist. I hurt Andy, and I'm not proud of it.

So I sit here tonight excited about seeing him. We talked 2 nights ago and made our plans to meet at an art gallery. He is just as excited about seeing me, and my sister is convinced that he's going to try to make a move on me. This may get tricky. He is a flirt, and so am I. I admit I am curious if he's still a good kisser. But I don't want to lose Rob over a fleeting temptation. So I am determined to do the right thing. Which doesn't rule out a kiss ;)

What I really want out of this is inspiration. I want to learn something about Andy/his work/his life/his inspiration that I can take away and use in my life to bring me joy. I don't know what that is yet, but when I find out I'll let you know. Wish me luck.