Goodbyes
Tonight a black pickup truck with Texas plates pulled into a parking space next to a silver corolla with New York plates. I walked out into the night wearing a cowboy hat and carrying cowboy boots. I tossed the boots into the back of the truck and walked around to the front door as the driver, my friend and coworker, got out and inspected his boots for 'yankee' damage.
"I wore it the right way just for you," I said as I removed the cowboy hat and returned it to its owner. I stepped up to the sidewalk and gave him a hug.
"It's been fun . . . You're gonna miss the hell out of me, aren't you?" he stated more than asked. An opinionated, traditional, and conservative boy from Texas, he somehow turned out to be one of my favorite fellow interns this summer. Talking with him always interested the hell out of me, not just because of his accent that came out the most when he was agitated or after he had had a few drinks, but because he was a very genuine and open-minded person with a really different perspective on things than me. My general impression of people from Texas has significantly improved this summer, and he's been a big factor.
I stood on the sidewalk as he got back into his pickup truck. He looked at me and told me, ". . . don't do anything stupid." Country music turned back on, he slowed down, beeped, and waved at me one last time.
I'm gonna miss the hell out of him. And pretty much everyone else that I met this summer in California.
I just thought that was a really interesting goodbye, particularly for _me_.
"I wore it the right way just for you," I said as I removed the cowboy hat and returned it to its owner. I stepped up to the sidewalk and gave him a hug.
"It's been fun . . . You're gonna miss the hell out of me, aren't you?" he stated more than asked. An opinionated, traditional, and conservative boy from Texas, he somehow turned out to be one of my favorite fellow interns this summer. Talking with him always interested the hell out of me, not just because of his accent that came out the most when he was agitated or after he had had a few drinks, but because he was a very genuine and open-minded person with a really different perspective on things than me. My general impression of people from Texas has significantly improved this summer, and he's been a big factor.
I stood on the sidewalk as he got back into his pickup truck. He looked at me and told me, ". . . don't do anything stupid." Country music turned back on, he slowed down, beeped, and waved at me one last time.
I'm gonna miss the hell out of him. And pretty much everyone else that I met this summer in California.
I just thought that was a really interesting goodbye, particularly for _me_.