RyanHarne.com

I wish to express my gratitude to everyone who wished me a pleasant birthday yesterday. I also wish to express my apologies for not being able to answer the calls I received. Rest assured, though, that the voicemail messages I received were listened to with smiles and total appreciation.

The one question I’ve had asked of me with the greatest frequency has been, “what did you do?” I did exactly, precisely, and verbatim what I wanted to do, which doesn’t happen often.

Saturday morning began with a run. Twenty minutes, give or take. Delightfully glum weather was just holding back a surprise, only I knew it. Those weathermen calling for thundershowers were the butt of my joke. Soon after the run, I met up with Rianna at Donald’s Bagels & Bites for grub. The term “grub” is so vile of a choice when it comes to describing the level and quality of bagels that Don’s offers; it was my first, majestic experience there and I had a fine partner in bagel crime. She and I began to notice the clouds departing during our outdoor stay with our bagel friends. Our soon-devoured bagel friends.

The afternoon was approaching, the heat of Phoebus’ fury, so we headed indoors. Bookshop on the Avenue was next - used books, and lots of ‘em. I now have enough books to, literally, last me through the year. And the best part - they all smell old. Since my fusion with literature began Winter 2003, I have discovered the wonder that is the used book-selling industry; alongside that discovery has been the satisfaction of knowing that this book once belonged to someone else and that I may unknowingly replicate a reading experience of their’s at any given time. Make sense? No? Ok, used books are cool because they have a history behind them apart from the story and plot. Sound alright now? Gosh, there’s no pleasing you.

Twenty-four dollars worth of used books later, we headed for one of my favorite cove areas of Lynchburg. My work as a groundskeeper at Centra Health in the summer of 2004 gave me a quick glimpse of Hollins Mill Park and I’ve been an adamant regular whenever the occasion presents itself. Rianna’s comment was dead on - the setting of a waterfall and the ambient noise involved truly helps you to think and converse on deep levels. And that is just what she and I did. For hours.

We sat and talked. We walked and talked. We walked quickly and talked, once we realized we were behind for a dinner appointment. But the experience of having a multi-hour philosophical conversation with someone (and someone like Rianna!) was priceless. Should a tree along the trail have fallen down in my path and severed my head from my torso, I would have been decapitated a happy man. Awww.

Dinner grew to a trio at Milan’s. Rianna, Allison, and I had fabulous, fabulous, fabulous Indian cuisine. While my “hot” spice level didn’t compare to my Thai experiences in Blacksburg, the lamb tikka masala was still wonderful and a taste of bliss unlike anything I’ve known around town before. Afterwards was a viewing of The Phantom of the Opera at Allison’s place. I brought along a cake my mother had patiently sculpted earlier that evening - Marble. Chocolate. Good.

So, there you have it. My birthday was what I wanted. New experiences. Don’s Bagels, Bookshop on the Avenue, Milan’s, Phantom. Some of the best times of my life, my feeble life. Thank You All.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 29th, 2005 at 2:08 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.