Remembering Who I Am!
12 years ago my brother Franz and I took a trip to Honduras. It was one of those soul savings trips. Franz was living in Fresno, a place he called Hell. I (His best friend) was witnessing his soul wither. So I made a plan. I bought him a round-trip ticket to Honduras, and promised him , three weeks of fun filled scuba diving. He was very reluctant to leave his misery. However, I eventually convinced him it was for his own good.
It started to be one of those Hunter S. Thompson , journeys, very similar to "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." On the first leg of our trip we had a lay-over in San Jose , Costa Rica. We hopped in a taxi and headed for downtown. We had several drinks of local moonshine from a local dive bar. The effect of this liquor on our heads and psyches, needless to say was as good as any illegal drug on the market. The second leg of our journey we landed in a coastal town of Honduras , where we disembarked and made plans for our journey to the islands. We chartered a small plane with a character named Carlos that owned a small Cessna. The dashboard of the plane was held together with duct tape and old used up gum. As we took off from the airport in the small plane. Carlos whipped out a huge bottle of rum, from nowhere, took a big drink and handed the bottle to us. For me, this moment was no big deal. After all, I had lived in Africa for several years and was used to this kind of behavior of pilots. However, Franz was not used to this behavior at all. He became very nervous, and upset about all the defects in the plane , including broken seat belts, and a very drunk pilot. It took me a while, but I convinced him drinking the rum would make him feel better. The plane ride lasted about three hours , and we were all eventually laughing and having a merry time.
We landed on the island in the late afternoon. The runway was an older runway, littered with old cars and crashed planes. We landed with no problems . Carlos just laughed like a banshee as we landed. As he taxied across the runway, I spotted two beautiful women emerge from the jungle. They greeted us at plane and offered to help us with finding lodging and food.
For the next three weeks, we danced and drinked the nights away with the girls from Switzerland that we met on the runway. Veronica and Veronica were and are their names. We also scuba dived together throughout our days on the island. Franz and I both fell in love with the Veronica's. However at the end of the three weeks we went home with fond memories of Switzerland and Honduras. The Veronica's stayed on the Island of Utila and took work at one of the dive companies.
Franz's bond with his Veronica, became all he could think about over the next 12 years. My brother moved to Italy, where he studied opera, and thought of ways of getting Veronica back in his life. My brother is a very persistent person . He eventually found Veronica in the Swiss Alps, climbed the mountain with her , and they both fell in love again. Veronica decided to move back to United States with Franz, and study film making. However, she got a little bit more than she bargained for. This summer Veronica and Franz, announced they were pregnant. A few weeks ago on a stretch of California beach, of white sand as far as the eye can see, I was a witness to their marriage. The only attendees were my son Cole, a justice of the piece and Veronica and Franz. It was one of the most romantic beautiful things , I have had pleasure to witness in life. Two people in love, getting married on a beach. Simple, poetic and romantic.
This very weekend, the other Veronica, my Veronica, came to see the three of us. She flew in from Switzerland, to be part of this beautiful union of our two friends. The four of us once again united, traveled to Mount Shasta spent a night in a château, drinking amazing red wine, telling stories until the sun came up , and we all went cross-country skiing in the early-morning. That evening,Veronica and Franz, announced to Veronica and I, that they would be honored for us to be God Parents of their child due next month. It was one of those fantastic moments in my life when everything comes together, just as it should, a perfect moment to catalogue to the soul. We all laughed and wondered how our paths led us to this magic moment in life. We took my Veronica to the airport early the next morning and said our goodbyes... for now.
Something about the events of last five or six days , made me remember who I am and where I came from. Remembering and living this ongoing journey makes me want to climb the mountain and shout," hallelujah mama, it's great to be alive!"
Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years." --Richard Bach
It started to be one of those Hunter S. Thompson , journeys, very similar to "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." On the first leg of our trip we had a lay-over in San Jose , Costa Rica. We hopped in a taxi and headed for downtown. We had several drinks of local moonshine from a local dive bar. The effect of this liquor on our heads and psyches, needless to say was as good as any illegal drug on the market. The second leg of our journey we landed in a coastal town of Honduras , where we disembarked and made plans for our journey to the islands. We chartered a small plane with a character named Carlos that owned a small Cessna. The dashboard of the plane was held together with duct tape and old used up gum. As we took off from the airport in the small plane. Carlos whipped out a huge bottle of rum, from nowhere, took a big drink and handed the bottle to us. For me, this moment was no big deal. After all, I had lived in Africa for several years and was used to this kind of behavior of pilots. However, Franz was not used to this behavior at all. He became very nervous, and upset about all the defects in the plane , including broken seat belts, and a very drunk pilot. It took me a while, but I convinced him drinking the rum would make him feel better. The plane ride lasted about three hours , and we were all eventually laughing and having a merry time.
We landed on the island in the late afternoon. The runway was an older runway, littered with old cars and crashed planes. We landed with no problems . Carlos just laughed like a banshee as we landed. As he taxied across the runway, I spotted two beautiful women emerge from the jungle. They greeted us at plane and offered to help us with finding lodging and food.
For the next three weeks, we danced and drinked the nights away with the girls from Switzerland that we met on the runway. Veronica and Veronica were and are their names. We also scuba dived together throughout our days on the island. Franz and I both fell in love with the Veronica's. However at the end of the three weeks we went home with fond memories of Switzerland and Honduras. The Veronica's stayed on the Island of Utila and took work at one of the dive companies.
Franz's bond with his Veronica, became all he could think about over the next 12 years. My brother moved to Italy, where he studied opera, and thought of ways of getting Veronica back in his life. My brother is a very persistent person . He eventually found Veronica in the Swiss Alps, climbed the mountain with her , and they both fell in love again. Veronica decided to move back to United States with Franz, and study film making. However, she got a little bit more than she bargained for. This summer Veronica and Franz, announced they were pregnant. A few weeks ago on a stretch of California beach, of white sand as far as the eye can see, I was a witness to their marriage. The only attendees were my son Cole, a justice of the piece and Veronica and Franz. It was one of the most romantic beautiful things , I have had pleasure to witness in life. Two people in love, getting married on a beach. Simple, poetic and romantic.
This very weekend, the other Veronica, my Veronica, came to see the three of us. She flew in from Switzerland, to be part of this beautiful union of our two friends. The four of us once again united, traveled to Mount Shasta spent a night in a château, drinking amazing red wine, telling stories until the sun came up , and we all went cross-country skiing in the early-morning. That evening,Veronica and Franz, announced to Veronica and I, that they would be honored for us to be God Parents of their child due next month. It was one of those fantastic moments in my life when everything comes together, just as it should, a perfect moment to catalogue to the soul. We all laughed and wondered how our paths led us to this magic moment in life. We took my Veronica to the airport early the next morning and said our goodbyes... for now.
Something about the events of last five or six days , made me remember who I am and where I came from. Remembering and living this ongoing journey makes me want to climb the mountain and shout," hallelujah mama, it's great to be alive!"
Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years." --Richard Bach
posted by Hans "KOTM" at 9:21 PM
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