Unstoppable Erica

Introduction

Note: Based on a true story. Names, dates, places, and details have been changed for privacy.

Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow.
Bloom and grow, forever.
Edelweiss, edelweiss.
The Sound Of Music.

July 2020.
San Dimas, California.

"Ok, Peter, so that's how Garage Band works."

"Thanks Ray! Really cool. It's a hell of a lot easier than that 4-track we used to record on in the 80's. Man, I love that song. We must have played Edelweiss a thousand times back then."

I palmed my face. "And yet, we still messed it up! You going to eat that last piece of chicken?"

He slid the bucket to me. "Go ahead, take it, Ray. I know how much you love KFC."

I really did. Especially on a beautiful morning in a suburban park with my friend of over thirty-five years. As a talented musician, Peter had played with me in countless ensembles and situations, both for fun and professionally. We had also been roommates for four years until 1991, when I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend Olivia.

After marrying her two years later, our contact had been sporadic, but Peter and I always fell right back into our witty banter. Most of our relationship consisted of joking around, but we also expressed our deep feelings for each other, and discussed intensely personal things. We had also given support to each other at various times. Financially from me, and emotionally from him. In 2020 he needed a different kind of support, but I wasn't sure what to do.

I hated to ask, but felt I had to. "How are you feeling today?"

He winced. "Not as good as the last time I saw you. It won't be too much longer though. This is my last dose, and when I get through it, I can hopefully get back to normal."

Consoling people was never my strongest area. In fact, I tried to avoid it as much as possible, but his cancer treatments and the Covid lockdown left him homebound and longing for company. With both of us in long marriages, we knew that our wives could only provide so much. It had been especially hard on Peter, who was as gregarious and extroverted as I was introverted.

I offered a tepid, "Ok, cool."

Peter laughed out loud. His high pitched chortle warmed my heart, but prompted a stroller-pushing mother to hurry down the path by our picnic table. "Ray, I know damn well you're thinking, 'Oh no! What do I say?"

His caricature of me as the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz was completely accurate. My friend Wendy from the mid-1980's had also mocked my emotional discomfort.

Wendy!

Musing about my formative decade brought a thought to mind. "Hey Peter, did you know that San Dimas is the home of Most Excellent Waterparks?"

Peter and I had seen at least a thousand movies together before I married, and one of our favorites was Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. All it took was one small reference to send us into a quoting frenzy.

Starting with the little air guitar riff the duo used to punctuate the jokes, Peter announced, "Dude, strange things are afoot at the Circle K..."

I came back with, "Joan of Ark? Wasn't that Noah's wife?"