In Which We Turn Back Time

I had a lunch date on this day with really good friends; friends, in fact, that I hadn't seen since December, when we partied and ate cake and remembered our friend Ellen who had recently passed away. But it was winter and there was Covid and we didn't get out. Now it's spring, so let the good times roll!

I fired up my sweet little Mazda and drove it into town, leaving early enough to stop for a half-hour at a favorite rusty bridge along Spring Creek; the former home of the much loved and sadly missed Spring Creek Madonna, our Lady of these Woods and Waters.

I stood by the spillway and made lots of pretty pictures of the reflections there. So much fun, what the water can do, and what it can make. While I was there, it started to drizzle, and I quite happily stood there in the rain; watching rain patterns on open water is a thing, for me. It's soothing, like meditation.

And then I went and met my friends for lunch, and had a delicious chef salad, and laughed and laughed like I haven't laughed in months. Not everybody showed up; there's always something trying to keep us apart. (This time it was vertigo and a broken rear-view mirror.) But three of us were there, and what a good time we had, reminiscing and telling stories; catching up on the happenings of our current lives.

I was reminded, again, of how good it is to have friends, and especially friends who have known you for a very long time. We all picked each other back in about 1985, or at least that's when I arrived, and we will be friends forever. We are simpatico. It was like some kind of accidental magic that brought us together, but here we are, still friends.

My life has been a sea of change in the past few years, and the whole Covid interlude made everything even stranger. The life I used to live seems like a dream to me now. But when I am with my friends, it feels like nothing has changed. I am reminded of who I am. So anyway, good times. (And let me add this: don't take your friends for granted! Hug them! Tell them you love them!)

And then suddenly, my chef salad was done, and so was Gina's, and Judy had finished her "slice," as we call it. ("Let's have a slice!" must be said in just the right mafioso tone.) And back out into the rain we went, me with my pink umbrella. And guess where I went after that: I went antiquing!

I had parked my car by Apple Hill Antiques, up on Gerald Street. And so I wandered in there, and spent a very happy 45 minutes just perusing their collection, picking out a few small things, and taking lots of pictures. (The people there are just so lovely and friendly; and yes, I asked first about taking photos, and got a very polite "No, I don't mind, and thank you for asking!")

THIS was the room full of record albums that stirred my soul, and I can't even tell you how good it felt to wander into it. We had quite a few nice record stores in State College over the years, but most of them closed. A favorite of mine was the National Record Mart, on the 200 block of College Avenue, next to a Mid-State Bank ATM that we used ALL the time back in the day.

The Arboria record store (note the sign in this image - yes, that's authentic) closed in 2006, and I suspect this room may include some of their final collection. There is a very nice selection of album covers on the wall that I stopped to admire. And though I didn't buy anything, I flipped through the albums for a while, happily remembering those days, turning back time.

My musical selection for the day is this one: Cher, with Turn Back Time. Now, I am a fan of Cher, and I think the cheeky outfit is amazing, though it got everybody banned from ever making a music video on a Navy ship again (which sort of cracks me up to be honest, pun intended!), and caused Mr. Blackwell to label her as "a bag of tattooed bones in a sequinned slingshot," which makes me howl with laughter to this day! Anyway, enjoy the stories. Enjoy the pictures. Enjoy the songs!