If you have been following me for awhile, you know the tradition that my friend @a4xjeeper and I have where we visit different fish fries during the season of Lent. Neither of us are Catholic, so we don't really celebrate Lent in the traditional sense, but we both loved fried fish, so it works out well for us. Some years we make it to quite a few Friday fish fries, and others, we might only make it to one, but it's a routine that our wives knowingly and graciously concede to.
While this post isn't specifically about food, I'm going to include it as a submission for the current The Pub writing prompt highlighting your favorite pub food. I will be the first to admit, that fried perch is probably one of my favorite pub foods. Don't get me wrong, I love a good sandwich, burger, or wings, but fried perch is just so delightful when done properly.
@ericvancewalton just wrote a really good post which touched on some feelings regarding the loss of friends, and he and I had a really good though brief conversation about it in the comments. As I thought about that post and my recent visit to one of the our local pubs with my friend, I felt really lucky that he and I still have that connection.
As Mr. Walton indicated, Covid changed a lot of things for a lot of people. There were those who thought it was a joke, and that's their truth to believe, then there were others who leaned the other way, and likewise, that is their truth as well. Unfortunately, this left a bit of a rift between these two groups that is still being felt today. While I know my friend genuinely cares about people and I'm not exactly sure his medical opinion on the pandemic, being a small business owner, this impacted him a bit different than it did myself.
The shutdowns were immensely detrimental to his ability to make a living. Where school was still being taught (though remotely), I still had a full time job and collected a paycheck every other week. Not so for him, and I can appreciate that. Unfortunately, amidst all of this, they continued to do things with friends, making new connections. Connections that my wife and I missed out on as we did our best to isolate and try to do what we felt was right at the time.
I have no clue why Godzilla was on my Pabst Blue Ribbon can, and who TF is Peter?
Sadly, as the lockdowns passed, those new connections seemed to grow while the classic ones remained the same. It doesn't help that my friend has hobbies that quite honestly, I don't have the budget for. As a quite successful business owner, he has a fair amount of disposable income for his "Jeeping". Something that I just can't afford to get into as curious as I may be. Perhaps one day if crypto actually does something I can pick up a used CJ or something, but until then, I just have to cherish these small moments when they come up.
It was a really nice evening on Friday sitting at the bar with my friend of 37 years and talking about whatever. We talked a lot about his business, we talked about my business, we talked about the current generation entering the workforce and how dismal it looks. We talked about Jeeping of course, and all kinds of other stuff.
While it may have only been a couple hours on a Friday night, it was quite refreshing and a connection that I have honestly really missed.
I think part of it is the fact that my friend is just a more social person that I am. It's easy for him to talk to people. It's always been quite a bit more difficult for me. The connections I do have are strong, but they are far fewer. I'm not sure that will ever change. As hard as I may try, I just don't see my circle expanding much beyond where it is now. My fear however is that my small circle will instead contract, and at that point what am I left with? As I expressed in the comments the other day. My wife and I are a lot for each other, but we can't always be everything.
I'm not sure where I am going with this. I'm just reflecting on a nice evening with a close friend and reestablishing a connection I have missed quite a bit over the past year.
Come hang out in The Pub
