me -n- sarah
2004-10-27, 12:25 p.m.

A year or two after I got out of college I met my friend Sarah, unexpectedly. She was friends with another friend of mine, and he had told me all about her. To be honest, I was a little jealous of, well, her very existence. After all, they had three or so years of memories together (this was back when I thought three years was a long time) and he and I had only been hanging out for a few months. Also, you could tell how much he adored her when he said her name. He would kind of sigh it: "Sarah." Try it. Exhale and half-whisper it: "Sarah." See?

Anyhow, one day I walked into the bar where he worked, after getting off at my own bartending job (boy, that was back in the day), and he pulled me aside and said "Thank God you're here. Sarah is in from Memphis and I don't get off till 2:30 a.m. She's sitting right over here."

Well, about four hours later, four bars later, and about six baileys and coffees later (yes, each), we were fast friends. Our conversation had covered every subject from our taste in music to our views on abortion. A few weeks later, our friend that introduced us took me on a trip to Memphis and we stayed at Sarah's house, and then she visited Nashville again and we hung out again, and we started keeping in touch, and pretty soon we were visiting each other all by our own selves without any mutual friends involved in making the plans.

One time I was in her city for a music conference and she let me stay at her apartment while she was away. I walked her little beagle, Betsy, all over her neighborhood ("midtown" in Memphis - with interesting architecture and flowering trees everywhere). Sarah says when she got home Betsy slept for a whole day.

About three years ago I was in a deep deep funk and she told me to come to Memphis and we would commiserate over the weekend and I remember (1) her painting my nails; (2) her fixing me hot tea; (3) sleeping crazy late in a sunny room; (4) buying perfumy oils at Maggie's Pharm; (5) sitting with her and listening to Owsley ; and (6) digging with her in the backyard of her new house where we found all sorts of things like a big stone frog sculpture.

Oh, and also, there were some visits that involved more drinking than that. Like when she told someone who was in my car with us who was drunk and yelling that she'd like "a moment of silence please!" Heh. Did I mention she's funny too? Or when we walked to every martini bar in downtown Memphis, having a different kind of martini at each one. Or those Easter-Egg-shaped-tequila-jello-shot-things at her birthday party.

The bad news is I haven't been the best about keeping in touch with her though I think about her and miss her a lot. The good news is: she's coming to town this weekend and has invited me to a Halloween party. I can't wait to see me some Sarah.