A Free Spirit

     It's late,and I want to write,so forgive me. Sometimes,when we weren't working,my uncle Steve wanted something "recreational" to do. So,he found a guy with a hang-glider for sale. We went in together,and actually bought this contraption! We should have stuck to bikes. We had NO concept of flying this thing. After a few bumps,and bruises,sprains,and torn ligaments,we got it figured out.

         And what a wonder it was! I cannot even begin to describe the awesome feeling of flying hundreds of feet above the ground. No sound,no motors,just you,and the flapping of the fabric on the glider.I believe I spent some of my most serene moments in the air,on that glider. Shortly after this,my uncle and I parted ways.

          There were no problems,I had just met a girl that I was spending a lot of time with,and Steve wanted to go out west. I was,by now,18,and well on my own.I told Steve to go west,and follow his dreams.He had done a good job "raising" me. I could more than fend for myself,and there was the matter of this new girl,with me.

        Under the watchful eye of my uncle,I had more than learned to survive on the streets,I had learned to live on my own,and he knew it.A few days later,he came over to my place,looked long and hard at me,then punched me in the arm. I knew he was going,and I would probablly never see him again.We never said "goodbye",we always said "later". Goodbye is for when someone dies. Steve got in his truck,and drove west,out of the city,and out of my life. I have never lost a better friend;I have never had another like him.

         My new girlfriend asked,"who was that"? I told her it would take a lifetime to explain.....she never understood.That was too bad;we only get one friend like that per lifetime.I hope some of you have a friend like him,just once in your life....my God,I thought more of him than I did my own brothers. I haven't seen him since...I don't even know where he lives.I have always hoped he found what he was searching for. I did,but it wasn't with the girl I was dating right then........more later