Norwich - Tuesday evening

Tomorrow we leave for a trip we have been talking about for at least 25 years, we shouldn't be accused of doing things in a hurry. We are in a hurry. Last January my closest friend died. I delayed too long in going to see her, I knew she was ill, but thought we had longer. Suddenly age becomes a reality and mortality is fragile. Old friends are precious, they share our memories and memories are for sharing. I had known Jen longer than I have known John, now that she is no longer able to share my memories I have lost them.
So we came home from Jen's funeral and decided that we would delay no longer. At the moment we are lucky, one or two minor health issues, no more than inconveniences, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Ray and Karen were top of the list of people we want to catch up with, a friendship going back 37 years. In the late 70s and early 80s that meant hand written letters between Oregon and Norfolk. We shared newspaper cuttings, political and cultural comparisons, and we realised that we also shared similar values and interests. The friendship was probably cemented when we spent 3 weeks travelling together in Mexico in 1998, something we have never done with any other people. I can't think of 2 other people of any nationality we could have done that with and remained not just friends, but closer friends.
So tomorrow morning we leave for Oregon and our much anticipated trip. We will visit not just Ray and Karen but also their daughter Jennifer and her family. Over the years we have been sent many post cards, books, calendars, all with photographs of the stunning Oregon scenery. We have learnt about Oregon, the Democratic heritage, the easy going culture, and the forward thinking policies. We are excited about going to see for ourselves, at last, but most of all we are excited about seeing Ray and Karen. We are expecting endless talking and story telling, repeating ourselves many times, nudging each others memories and if we should need any prompting Ray's catalogue of photographs will be there to remind us. One thing we know for sure is that there will be a lot of laughter.