Reverb 10 #16 - Friendship

Friendship: how has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this a gradual change or a sudden burst?

It wasn't a friend who changed my perspective on this but it was the nun who helps run the St. Bernard Project. She talked about the people who lived in St. Bernard's Parish and how most of the people never left. They went to school, got their jobs, got married, started their families and lived close to their relatives.

Growing up, I always wanted to just leave. I didn't want to stay in the same place and I never understood why anyone would stay where they grew up. Why not go out and explore the world? Why settle in the same city you grew up in when there is so much out there to see? I also got a bit snobby about it. I'm kind of snot when I get something in my head.

But I don't know. Something about how she said it that day, as we sat in that stuffy back area on the low bleachers looking at all the messages people wrote before heading out to rebuild houses, that just stuck. It opened my eyes to why people stay.

My sister stayed in SD. My brother says in SD. My cousins are there. They all live close to each other and if they need help, they call each other. The other day, my ate, who is 8 months pregnant, lost the feeling in her legs at Costco. She had my nephew with her and she just couldn't move. So, she ended up calling our brother, who picked her up and took her to the hospital. (She's ok btw). But there are things that you sacrifice when you leave. And of course, there are things that you sacrifice when you go.

But I think, now I get it...

Graphic Novel Fridays: Pedro & Me by Judd Winick

When someone you love dies and

you're not expecting it, you don't lose

her all at once. You lose pieces over a

long time.

The way the mail stops coming and

her scent fades from pillows and even

from the clothes in her closet and

drawers.

Gradually, you accumulate the parts

of her that are gone forever...

There comes another day

and another specifically

missing part.

- John Irving

What Caught My Eye: I think this was the last season of the Real World I watched. It was in San Francisco, it had great people on the show, and after last Friday's terrible accident, I just needed to read something about friendship, love and grieving and celebrating a person's life.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: Honestly, I really liked watching this season of the Real World, it might be the last time that show was actually "real." Pedro Zamora exposed the world to the human side of HIV/AIDS. I think, I just also needed something that celebrated an amazing person's life. It was also interesting seeing a side you didn't seen on the television screen. It is a wonderful and powerful story about tolerance, opening your self up to new experiences and finding people who will change your life if you keep an open heart and mind.

Who Would I Recommend This To: People who have lost someone in their life. People who remember watching the Real World San Francisco. It is a great story and the quote from John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany really did help me.