“I’ve learned by now that faith isn’t pretending that the mountain isn’t there. It isn’t denial of the truth, or the facts, or the grief, or the anger. It’s not the lie of speaking ‘peace, peace’ when there is no peace. It’s faith because it is hope declared, it is living into those things that are not yet as they will be.”
~ Sarah Bessey
I couldn’t believe it when I saw him. I was so taken off guard that I actually forgot his name, even though Crystal Heis and I had just talked about him a few weeks ago. He is our old college friend, Clark Tauson, and he had the good sense to hug me tight anyway. It was actually like something out of a movie. I was reaching for paper towels. He was looking for something down that same aisle. Our eyes met. We stared at one another for what felt like a year, the squint of recognition taking hold as the years that scared our faces faded away and we saw one another as we had been last time we met probably twelve to fifteen years ago. There we stood in the grocery, and immediately Dan Fogelberg’s Same Old Lang Syne began playing in my head. I guess the trigger was the toast to innocence and time. He’s got four kids now, and is a Haberdasher, which of course tickled me because no one else in this country but Clark would describe selling men’s clothing as haberdashery. I love Clark. I have always loved him. He was a wild and zany young man who was always, always, always happy, and that made him a joy to be with. We shared some interesting times back in the day, and it did my heart good to see him. I hope our paths cross again before another fifteen years roll by.
november 12, 2015 | the outhouse: where art goes
[…] uplifting calls and visits from friends and co-workers alike. I’m eternally grateful that Clark and I ran into each other at Kroger a year ago. It was a significant reconnection. He makes my life sweeter, and man, does he have the […]