tamarjacobson

I arrived by train …

And there he was …

Neilochka! … to meet me and take me to Sophia, who was waiting patiently in the car after driving all the way from Queens. I was so excited, and wanting to hug her there and then, I almost sat on her lap in the front seat.

We had lunch together at Old Man Rafferty’s, which Neil and Sophia had found by researching the Internet before meeting up with me. I had Shrimp Fusilli and a small Caesar salad but who cares what I ate! It was so exciting to be spending the first day of the New Year with my new friends, whom I would never have met had I not become a blogger three years ago. We talked about everything: life, love, marriage, divorce, humor, sex, illness, wellness, therapy, New Brunswick, blogging, writing, friendship, America, Israel, Zimbabwe, Russia, and more. How could I consider giving up blogging? We took photos and I smiled and smiled.

And then … back to the station where I boarded the train to Trenton where my car was waiting to take me home to Philadelphia.

We met in the middle … Neil and Sophia from Queens, and me from Chestnut Hill.

And then … they waved me goodbye as the train left the station and I waved back shedding a tear of joy at knowing such friends who took the trouble to drive all the way to see me on New Year’s Day, and a tear of sadness that they don’t live closer by so that I could meet them for coffee, lunch, dinner, whatever, whenever I like.

A year [and a day] ago at Mining Nuggets: Wheezles and sneezles