The Tapestry That is Life

I remember sitting with my friend Jules, eating ice cream outside the small patio area with the fountains, next to where I had my store, back in Austin.

Jules giggled, then looked at me earnestly and said "You just think too much!"

I don't remember exactly what we had been discussing, but if anyone else had made that remark, I would probably have taken offense... but I let it pass, perhaps distracted by the sun catching in her cascading golden blonde locks; perhaps distracted by her deep blue eyes...

In retrospect, it seemed like an odd thing for her to say, given that she was one of the smartest people I had ever met. Then again, maybe it was comments like that that made her as smart as she was... beyond two honors degrees and an IQ of 170.

She was people smart, too.

This small vignette of sitting by the fountains with Jules, eating ice cream and chatting is laser engraved on my being with a crystal clarity I can't explain.

Ten minutes.

I say this as someone who barely remembers whether I need to get cat food at the market...

While my childhood is mostly a garbled mess of our eternal moving from one place to the next; from one country to the next... I remember being about six and making little "roads" in the gravel beyond the back patio at Villa Tita in France, so my little plastic trucks could drive there and pick up the fallen olives from the trees above — a blue truck with a red bed, and a yellow truck with a blue bed.

On the street side of the house, I would sometimes see the neighbor's black-and-white tuxedo cat and pet it till it purred... much to my mother's disgust... but Mme. Antoinette — the housekeeper — would just smile and not tell.

Those memories are also laser burned into my being.

Texas; I'm early 30s; there was a Halloween party at Clinton's house; at some point I found myself out on the back steps with several people who were smoking.

It's funny how I have always been a non-smoker, yet so many people I've hung out with have been smokers... but anyway...

I was out there with four or five other people and we were slightly buzzed from the evening. One of the girls noticed that there was mistletoe in the oak trees above and some random kissing started. I refrained... because I was married, and my wife at the time was even inside.

A slightly shy girl with dark hair, freckles and kind grey eyes said "don't be afraid, noone will know" and kissed me in a way that made me realize that something was horribly wrong with my marriage.

Another vignette... just a few minutes.

We talk about "the pursuit of happiness" like it is something we can actually have, but happiness is not a thing, it is merely a fleeting moment in the tapestries that make up our lives. What we remember; what truly leaves an impression is often so fleeting and brief we almost miss it... and it cannot be owned; it cannot be harnessed.

Most of my "moments" revolve around connections with others; often fleeting and random crossings that happened according to no plan — apart from maybe the Universe's.

A teenager I met and helped after a canceled flight in Amsterdam.

A lost soul at Portland airport; I bought him a ticket home when he was stranded.

Perhaps these incidents are only meant to be moments in the tapestry... they flame so brightly that we remember them in vivid detail, but that same fiery brightness also makes it impossible for them to last beyond the moment.

But maybe sometimes they do last.

Going back to Denmark some years ago, I sat next to a 40-something couple on 9-hour flight over. They were so obviously and blatantly in love — all over each other — that I figured they were newly coupled.

Turned out they had been married for 22 years (at the time) and their flame burned as brightly as the day they met. He proposed to her about 45 minutes after they initially met. When he did, she'd replied "I thought you'd never ask!"

It was another vignette, and I remember thinking "I want that..."

Then I thought about how incredibly unlikely we are to meet someone who's a perfect match. If everyone waited around for that, the species would be dead!

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I can hear Jules giggle and say "You just think too much!"

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about YOU? Do you have certain particularly sharp memories? Are they typically just brief snapshots, or longer? Why do you think you remember them so well? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2025.09.03 00:45 PDT
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