Mostly Martha

 

    I have a few friends. Once a month I hang out with the "Goils" -women of  a certain age- for drinks and kvetching. Every once in a while I get together with an old acquaintance for a bottle of wine (see a trend here?) and girl talk. These get togethers are sweet because most of the time I spend alone.

    One is born into and often stuck with a family but friends choose to be with you-despite your faults and I treasure them, I really do but mostly I treasure my friend Martha. We met in the LCC graphics arts program and she has been there for me thru thick and thin. She is the perpetual optimist to my cynical curmudgeon and I love that. The best thing I could wish for anyone is to have a friend like Martha.

    For many years her mom Jane- who was the spitting image of Ruth Gordon from Harold and Maude- was equally supportive. One time when I was falling into a depression well, Martha brought to the house they shared and Jane and I ended up spending a good hour trying to translate Winnie the Pooh from a Latin edition. If that don't distract you from depression -nothing will. In fact, her whole family has adopted me, for which I am humbly thankful and slightly mystified given my temperament.

    I'm what you call a "high maintenance" friend. My moods are like the weather, unpredictable and nothing you can do about it. Emotional meltdowns, melodramatic panics, and a general pain in the ass. I overreact to the smallest crisis like an Italian mother but Martha stays cool and assures me it will be fine to whatever I'm crashing about. I was apologizing profusely for dragging her into my latest drama- a trip to the ER (I'm fine but don't ask) and she just brushed it aside. It turns out while I was being attended to there was bigger scene going in the reception area with some crazies. The receptionist was apologizing to her but she dismissed it as an entertaining floor show.

      I've had friends come and go, sometimes mysteriously disappearing for no apparent reason but Martha seems to think I'm worthwhile and the feeling is mutual.

 

Martha / photo by author