Courtney S. Barr

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Monday, October 6, 2008

30 minutes of old friend bliss!




This afternoon around 5:01 p.m. my phone rings. I am always excited to see Joe (my best friend from New York/Florida/North Carolina) pop up on caller ID. He is & always will be my Damn Yankee - I am his Southern Belle. Anyway, when I answer to my surprise he begins with: I am in Birmingham right now. Okay so Joe works for Books A Million & their headquarters are in Birmingham, he had a 1 day conference at the BJCC & it was today, he only has 30 minutes between meetings & a required dinner. He got into town late last night & tried to call me but my phone was dead from the weekend. So of course what do I do? I immediately call my husband tell him we are going to Birmingham & get home to head out the door. I have not seen Joe in person in 6.5 years. 6.5 YEARS!!!! We talk around 4 times a month, text when we can, play on facebook & myspace but it has been 6.5 years since we have spoken in person. I almost burst into tears when he rounded the corner at the Sheraton, it was like Florida all over again. He has not changed a bit - which is perfect. I was blown away by how much I had missed him, even with all the correspondence we work to keep often it is not the same. The three of us went up to his room to catch up & so he could change for the next event on his agenda. Their schedule was crazy, you should have seen how there was hardly any time between meetings/lectures. The coolest part though is the books they get copies of (almost all are signed by the authors) to take home.
I was flooded with memories of nights out late, crazy roommates, new experiences, lots of laughter, and even more love. He is one of the most amazing people I know. I am blessed to have 4 true best friends. They are all so unique & just wonderful. His place in my life was not only perfectly timed, but an addition that took me by surprise and brought me closer to who I am. He met me during a real searching for yourself period & loved me for all the craziness, naivete, sheltered, Alabama blonde that I am. I will never forget so many things - dance clubs, cigarettes (never smoked them myself - but I did like to light them on fire while sitting outside & my roommates would smoke - yeah smokers don't like you to waste their cigs for your own pyro habits :), chik fil a all the time, wakie*wakie*eggs*&*bakie*, no cheese at the Waffle House, Pleasure Island, Islands of Adventure, RENT, teaching someone how to pump gas (yes truly how to PUMP gas), & learning how to just let go.
Thank you Joe. You took me under your wing from the first moment I said armadillo & have kept me there ever since - I LOVE YOU!!

5 comments:

  1. Yea for seeing friends... so did you ask him for his copy of any and all of the twilight series that are signed... come on you know if you didn't you really wanted too!

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  2. I love friends! Especially the old ones. Even if you don't keep in touch often, there is just something special and important about them.

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  3. lol - he actually got me a signed Breaking Dawn bookplate (the ones she gave out at the New York event that I did not get to attend). He got some good books. I laughed outloud when I was looking at some of the ones he got yesterday - he will get more today at the Vendor portion of the event before he flies home. He did get The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - which is AWESOME!

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  4. Thank you Courtney. I love you so much. I remember the first moment that I thought that you would be in my life forever. It was when we talked outside that McDonalds by Sea World and talked for HOURS. I miss you terribly and we can never let it go 6.5 years ever again. This is a promise the two i mean I should keep. Love you and thank you for the touching memories.. God I feel old lol

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  5. P. S. It was armadilla love... lol

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