A QUICK VISIT

We had a couple of visitors here at the Old Manse over the weekend.

No, no, I don't mean them.

The Eurasian Collared Doves (thanks, Phil) are here throughout the day, every day.

As a matter of fact, they apparently landed with such an impact the other day that they flipped the top half of the bird bath upside down onto the ground.

I noticed it after the fact and returned it to its rightful position with a fresh filling of water.

But no, those aren't the visitors I was referring to.

It was Tom and Lana from Cambria, California, who dropped in for a whirlwind visit.

They are old friends (older now) from my Indianapolis radio days back around 1970.  

So our friendship is rapidly approaching a half century of existence.

Curiously, for someone who seems to live with his camera in his hand, I came away with no pictures this time.

As we chatted over the weekend the topics veered from "how did we ever get this old?" to "whatever became of him/her?" to "is he/she still alive?"

Judy has joked that old people only seem to talk about their various maladies.

And we all discussed those, too.

But there was still time for some wine and some great meals.

As usual Judy performed wonders in the kitchen, producing such tasty comestibles as orange-carrot-nutmeg soup, gazpacho, picadillo empanadas, corn and black bean salad, smoked paprika shrimp, lemon pound cake topped with lime-flavored Greek yoghurt, and choclolate meringues.

Ah, those chocolate meringues.

Mind you, that was not just one meal.

Did I mention the wine?

The visitors treated us to a delicious Bloody Mary-infused Sunday Brunch at the funky old Iron Springs Cafe . . . a favorite spot of ours.

Great gumbo, by the way.

It had been three years since we had seen them.

Three years marked by some doctoring all around and some more aging becoming apparent.

But, as is often remarked, with old friends it just seems like yesterday.