Four short hours ago I found myself waving so long! to my friend G. as he made his way toward the metal-detection/security-checkpoint thingie at Barajas airport. Soon as he stepped through that bugger, I turned and bolted, practically sprinting down the long succession of moving walkways that connect one terminal to another, heading toward the in-airport Metro station and back into Madrid. Feeling like I'd just been let out for school vacation after an unexpectedly long slog of classwork.
Ten days of nearly continuous time in the presence of this friend, far too much time to be spending with someone I'm not sleeping with. If you know what I mean.
Not that he isn't a terrific guy. He is. Enough's enough is all I'm saying, at least for me.
I know G. from a large social group I belonged to in late-80s/early-90s Boston/Cambridge, a sprawling, ever-shifting horde of people who got together each weekend for dinner, excursions to movies, day-trips out of the city. A group that grew a bit inbred with time, romances and intrigues taking form then dissolving, dynamics within the group becoming more complex, more dramatic, until the growing dramas overwhelmed the fun and the group gradually disintegrated.
I'm currently in touch with a only handful of individuals from that phase of my little life. G. is one of those, er, lucky few. Two days after his arrival here, we hopped a high-speed train down to Sevilla where we met up with J. and D., two more friends from that phase of my existence (along with a lovely woman from the British midlands, involved with D.).
It's going to take time to organize my thoughts re: the following days. For now, suffice it to say there was more than enough of this kind of thing:
Also, fortunately, a staggering amount of this kind of thing:
Sevilla: one of the most beautiful cities I have ever set foot in. Friendly people. The women return a smile, seem to take to chat easily. Excellent flamenco can be found at different nightspots. And, during the course of my last evening there, I discovered the single greatest tapas joint I've ever had the good fortune to stumble into.
Details will follow as time permits.
(Parting shot: a comment delivered by one of our group, in amazed response to the wild profusion of tearful religious imagery we encountered in some parts of Sevilla: "Weeping virgins everywhere!")
rws 1:02 PM [+]