Growing Pains.
Hmm…something’s clearly going on in my life right now. And I deduce that it’s probably not as bad as I imagine it to be.
People keep saying that the best things come to those who wait. They also say that if you blink, you might miss the things you were looking for. I honestly think life is a relative mishmash of the two. It’s a smorgasbord of life experiences and surprises.
I met an old friend of the family today. I used to think that he was the funniest guy alive – and looked up to him in so many ways. He used to crack jokes in the funniest manner, and at the most inopportune moments. He was arrogant, rude, disrespectful and down right insulting.
But that’s what made him special.
He was rude (for most of the time), but you can’t help but laugh out loud when he makes crude jokes about people – yours truly included.
When I was 18, whenever my brothers went out for coffee and this guy came along, I pleaded for them to bring me in tow. I knew that I was in for a world of hilarity. I knew for a fact that when he was around, you’d forget about every single dilemma plaguing your life at the moment in time. He was that compelling.
Whenever they got together (the whole group consisted of probably 12 people) everything flowed so smoothly. It was like an episode of Friends. And this was before Friends was on TV. Or at least maybe just on TV…
And I wanted to have friends like that. Friends who make you feel at home. And made you laugh so loud, mocha started spewing from your nostrils. Involuntarily of course. ☺
As the years passed, i was fortunate enough to stumble upon likeminded friends who made me feel at home too. But this is where things start to change.
You see, the guy I told you about, got married a couple of years ago, and stopped hanging out with his old friends. My brothers too, stopped seeing their friends. Responsibilities got the better of them, and to a lesser extent, their youths.
They have kids, a mortgage to pay and a car loan to settle in due time. They don’t go for coffee breaks anymore simply because, their coffee breaks are spent with their respective families. The laughter which they all shared dissipated.
My brother’s friend told me today, to my surprise, that they haven’t seen each other for a year now. What’s worse, he’s not even funny anymore. His jokes were stale and he looked resigned. His eyes no longer glowed with the zest of his younger days. He no longer told tall tales of adventure and reckless abandonment. He sold his Porsche 911 Turbo and bought a BMW 530 Diesel. He’s unkempt, ruffled and sodden.
“I’m Married. That’s life Bro. You’ll know how it is when you’re in my shoes.”
He once told me that if I wanted a religious experience, to get into his car. And I did.
And it was.
That was five years ago.
Today, if I jumped into his Beemer, I’d still probably shit my pants silly (cause he still drives like Schumacher on Amphetamines) but deep down, it’s never going to be the way I remember it.
He’s jaded. I suppose we all will be too, one day.
As he slowly reversed his car out of the garage, he winded his window down.
“Hey Eddie, tell Amilin (my brother) to give me call, or I’ll rip him a new asshole.” He said. Smiling wide, for a moment, his eyes glinted in the way I remembered it.
“Ok Bro. Will do.” I replied. Grinning.
And with that, he floored his throttle, and all 400nM of torque was transferred to the hot ash ridden bitumen. Leaving behind two really lengthy black lines. And a trail of smoke, fire and brimstone.
“Fucker. That’s one crazy bastard.” My partner said.
“Yeah. That’s how he’s always been.” I replied, still grinning.
And that’s how he always will be.
And I guess, in some ways, so will we.
When the smoke finally clears, and the garbage man does his run, he’ll see that there were two more black lines left on the road for him to see.
Overlapping and just a teeny weeny bit longer.
☺
People keep saying that the best things come to those who wait. They also say that if you blink, you might miss the things you were looking for. I honestly think life is a relative mishmash of the two. It’s a smorgasbord of life experiences and surprises.
I met an old friend of the family today. I used to think that he was the funniest guy alive – and looked up to him in so many ways. He used to crack jokes in the funniest manner, and at the most inopportune moments. He was arrogant, rude, disrespectful and down right insulting.
But that’s what made him special.
He was rude (for most of the time), but you can’t help but laugh out loud when he makes crude jokes about people – yours truly included.
When I was 18, whenever my brothers went out for coffee and this guy came along, I pleaded for them to bring me in tow. I knew that I was in for a world of hilarity. I knew for a fact that when he was around, you’d forget about every single dilemma plaguing your life at the moment in time. He was that compelling.
Whenever they got together (the whole group consisted of probably 12 people) everything flowed so smoothly. It was like an episode of Friends. And this was before Friends was on TV. Or at least maybe just on TV…
And I wanted to have friends like that. Friends who make you feel at home. And made you laugh so loud, mocha started spewing from your nostrils. Involuntarily of course. ☺
As the years passed, i was fortunate enough to stumble upon likeminded friends who made me feel at home too. But this is where things start to change.
You see, the guy I told you about, got married a couple of years ago, and stopped hanging out with his old friends. My brothers too, stopped seeing their friends. Responsibilities got the better of them, and to a lesser extent, their youths.
They have kids, a mortgage to pay and a car loan to settle in due time. They don’t go for coffee breaks anymore simply because, their coffee breaks are spent with their respective families. The laughter which they all shared dissipated.
My brother’s friend told me today, to my surprise, that they haven’t seen each other for a year now. What’s worse, he’s not even funny anymore. His jokes were stale and he looked resigned. His eyes no longer glowed with the zest of his younger days. He no longer told tall tales of adventure and reckless abandonment. He sold his Porsche 911 Turbo and bought a BMW 530 Diesel. He’s unkempt, ruffled and sodden.
“I’m Married. That’s life Bro. You’ll know how it is when you’re in my shoes.”
He once told me that if I wanted a religious experience, to get into his car. And I did.
And it was.
That was five years ago.
Today, if I jumped into his Beemer, I’d still probably shit my pants silly (cause he still drives like Schumacher on Amphetamines) but deep down, it’s never going to be the way I remember it.
He’s jaded. I suppose we all will be too, one day.
As he slowly reversed his car out of the garage, he winded his window down.
“Hey Eddie, tell Amilin (my brother) to give me call, or I’ll rip him a new asshole.” He said. Smiling wide, for a moment, his eyes glinted in the way I remembered it.
“Ok Bro. Will do.” I replied. Grinning.
And with that, he floored his throttle, and all 400nM of torque was transferred to the hot ash ridden bitumen. Leaving behind two really lengthy black lines. And a trail of smoke, fire and brimstone.
“Fucker. That’s one crazy bastard.” My partner said.
“Yeah. That’s how he’s always been.” I replied, still grinning.
And that’s how he always will be.
And I guess, in some ways, so will we.
When the smoke finally clears, and the garbage man does his run, he’ll see that there were two more black lines left on the road for him to see.
Overlapping and just a teeny weeny bit longer.
☺
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