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When we arrived in Hawai’i my wife and I had racked up a ton of points on our credit card. Enough points to spend a few weeks at a hotel as we looked for more permanent lodging. The hotel we stayed at had a nice pool with a hot tub that occasionally worked, free snow cones a few times a week, and daily activities.
Previously I had written about the lunch ladies I was friends with in high school, but within my age group, the person I remember being closest to was Tara Welch.
First, this blog post is dedicated to my good friend and coworker, Israel Diaz. I’m sure I would not be writing about this today without him. Thank you, Israel, for all your skill and vision. You do great work!
Except for the myriad of hearts I have stolen over the years (joking), I was once caught actually stealing. My belief is some good can be found in any situation, and for this one, I was always glad that I was young and my embarrassment was such that I would be inclined to play things above the board for the rest of my days.
Way back in 2008, I started working in real estate. I was not a real estate agent, just some guy that took some classes on how to help people going through foreclosure. Before you think I was kicking people out of their homes, I would say about ninety percent of the people I worked with had already abandoned their homes. The house would have just sat there, vacant.
Ok, so this one wraps up the sentimental quilt trilogy. The last quilt I will tell you about was given to me when I was eight or so. Made by Nan, the same grandma that made the first quilt I wrote about.
Surely you have heard the title of todays post quoted before. Supposedly the day Julius Ceaser was assassinated, warned ahead of time by a seer named Spurinna. The “ides” referred to the first new moon of the month, usually falling between the 13th and 15th. The Romans used the Ides of March as a time to settle debts, which made me think about my personal rules for giving.
Visiting Costa Rica in my early twenties, I had an opportunity to meet some of the locals at home. My aunt had married a man from the neighboring town, and one of the bird guides that worked at the lodge had a little crush on his niece. There was a custom where the guy and his intended would hang out on the bench or chairs on the front porch, like a chaperoned date. I thought it was sweet and harkened back to an older time.
We were at my stepmom’s house a few months ago during Christmas. I was warming by the fire, dozing off. My stepmom came up and draped a blanket over me. Inspecting the blanket closer, I realized it was the quilt my high school lunch ladies made for me!
My first real job was at an IT company just starting up in Fort Worth. There were seven of us at the time, and though we may not be in contact, I love them all to this day. I want to know that going in, despite the story you are about to read.