More Will Be Revealed

I have not blogged since I got back because, honestly, I have no idea how to express what I experienced down there, and I'm reluctant to even share the most minimal of details due to the private nature of what my best friend Gene and his wife Jimena are going through. At the same time, I've found it hard to write or think about much else in the past few days.

My weekend in Houston was one of the most profoundly sad, moving and surreal experiences of my life, and I feel like it will be with me forever. As I dance around this and express these feelings...well, I feel a bit like a fraud or a poseur or something...Gene and Jimena and their immediate family are the ones truly impacted. Who am I to moan and wail? I mean no disrespect to those involved -- I am only sharing the global impact on me, as someone who cares deeply about Gene and Jimena. And as a parent who knows what it is like to love a child.

My sincerest sympathies to the Larson/Mendoza family, and my admiration for their strength and courage during this unbelievably difficult time.

A couple of positive things I will take away from my Houston trip: appreciation for my friendships with Gene and Dave, who have stood by me through some bad times and who are just about the closest thing I have to brothers on the planet; and a reminder to count my blessings daily, because you just never know. I don't think I've ever been happier to see Nicola and Lindsay as I was on Monday morning at the Oakland airport.

• Love that t-shirt at the airport: "Play hard, Work harder, Pray hardest". Yeah, that really works out. Maybe I was just in a cynical mood after experiencing the heartbreak of one of the most decent families around. Where's the power of prayer in that instance, pal?
• Shop on the side of the road in The Woodlands, TX: GUITARS, GUNS, GOLD.
• At the same time I was traveling to Houston, I was reading "Friday Night Lights" and being awestruck by the misplaced priorities and backward thinking in that armpit of a city known as Odessa. Fascinating read. Haven't seen the movie yet.
• I am spoiled by Alameda's temperate weather. Or is it that Houston is unbearably hot and humid in late July?
• My efforts to improve my golf game by reading about it produced a hideous round of 114 or so on Saturday morning. Other excuses: the punishing hangover I had combined with the 7:30 a.m. tee time and 3:30 a.m. bed time. But...I will remember that fabulous wedge from about 80 yards, that settled close to the hole after a nice bit of backspin. Complete luck, 'cause I can't claim any skill.
  
  

// posted by Bill @ 2:59 PM