One of the things I miss most about my youth is the music scene. I had quite a few friends who were musicians and we used to go see their bands play all the time. And then of course there were all the fun concerts to go to. I really enjoyed the local music scene. I met my friend Rich when I was 20 and I just started at this telemarketing job for a timeshare company. Rich had been there awhile and after some time we became friends and hung out a lot. Then my friends and I would go see his band play local venues. He was a good friend in many ways and was one of the few friends that I looked up to. I think he was maybe 28 or so at the time and we would talk about our issues and what not.

He got me hooked into the poetry circuit for a couple years. This consisted of hanging out at several local coffee houses on their open mic nights, drinking coffee or in my case iced tea or hot chocolate, and talking to all the regulars who also followed the circuit. It was a lot of fun, other than the usual pretentious folks. But even they were enjoyable to watch as I could respect someone for being creative and expressing it. Though at times much of it was just a cry for attention. Of course, what isn't?

I miss him and wonder what ever became of him. He was a really great guy, who also had some problems. But I look back on so many friendships that I valued then and value now, but I didn't continue to nourish or cultivate. I suppose that is just the way life is. Nothing is permanent and the best we can do is enjoy and appreciate what we have, while we have it.