This blog's for you Pat!

Jeanne and I played games and had dinner at the home of Pat and Mike, two dear friends of ours last night. We had our customary wonderful time, ate some fantastic Kibbee (pronounced kibbay, a delicious Syrian dish made with ground lamb), and discussed a wide range of topics.

One brief topic was about blogs. I discussed how great Pat's most recent one (about her and Mike's trip to Ireland) was, especially the pictures of the Emerald Isle, and she discussed how she'd really like to see me blogging again. So here ya go, my fine friend:)

Pat and I met several years ago at a weekly writing class being held at the University of New Hampshire (U.N.H.) I went to see if I could further my thought of becoming a published writer, thinking that a small group's critiquing would tell me if I had what it took to do this whole writing thing. There were about ten or so people in that class, all with varying reasons to be there. Some were there like me, to see if they could start a career in writing, others came as part of their work, and still others brought nearly finished stories and novels.

Pat fit into that last category, and though she was fairly quiet during class, I was quite intimidated at first. Her work in progress was over 700 pages long! I thought to myself; why am I even in the same room as this person? She's a valedictorian, has all of those pages neatly organized in a binder, and all I have is a collection of a hundred or so dis-jointed pages of crap!

The weeks went by, and we didn't really chat that much, and I didn't think we would or could have much in common to begin a friendship. Then, one day, all of that changed, when, on the way out of class one night, she asked me that heartwarming question that will forever remain etched in my memory;

"Hey Dave, you're a hunter right? If I wanted to kill someone with a gun, how would I go about that?"

Of course, she was asking me this question as a part of her novel that required killing someone with a gun (at least that's what she told me), but the friendship was borne just the same, and we got to know each other a bit better. The person who I thought might be a little unapproachable turned out to be one of the most open-minded people I have ever known. She and Mike are both that way, and it is such a pleasure to visit with them, as no subject is out of bounds, which creates such a relaxed atmosphere.

Pat has gone on to realize her dream of becoming published a few times over now, with two thrilling novels; A Band of Roses and Fiery Roses (with a third in the trilogy on the way), as well as some short stories (one of which appears in The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance). I am so proud of her, and happy that her hard work has begun to pay off.

Most importantly, I am so glad that I decided to take that writing class those many years ago. No, I haven't become a world famous author, but I have gotten to know two amazing people that mean the world to me. Jeanne and I have shared many days of laughter, ideas, fantastic food and some great experiences with them. Thank you Pat, and thank you Mike for having us into your home and your lives, we love you both.

So there's your blog Pat, what do you t'ink?

-Dave