Thanks to my very own animal whisperer

Dear M

My sweet blue and brown eyed friend. Your face always reflects the two sides of your personality - the cold blue eyed analytical side and the brown- green glow of your warmer emotional side.

Your Irish heritage goes back as far as the leprechaun’s tales. You must have some of that leprechaun blood running through your veins. I have watched you turn sunshine into a rainbow that spills into a pot of gold. You can be quite upset that it does not happen more regularly.

Good news. Finally. I know what to get you for Christmas and your birthday. A crystal that you can hang in your window so you can see rainbows more often.

Truth be told, if your family had not immigrated, the flashes of sunlight along the west coast of Ireland would have probably made more rainbows more often and hence, potentially more gold, but your mom and dad took that risk when they moved and still did well. Plus, you have done well too in spite of facing many hardships,

Our journey together as friends has been unique. We first met at our first communion, when your school and mine joined together, to have one ceremony. By chance, your dad took a wonderful photo of you, me and my mom. You have an incredible eye, and memory and recognized the two of us in the photo when we were teenagers.

Our next meeting was in a gym class, after you had moved back from boarding school. You were standing in front of me in a line waiting to practise a free shot in basketball or some such thing. I did not resist the incredible urge to pet your long thick hair – it was like a horse’s mane, with the most wonderful twists of gold and red flecked through the brown. I had never realized the attraction between girls and horses before then. I know you love horses and trust will not take offence. Even your smile holds the same toothiness of un cheval. You are one with the marvellous beast . I am quite certain a horse is your spirit animal.

Later, when met in junior high school, you assumed the role of an equine-assisted therapy, friend, providing physical and mental health. I was hospitalized. While recovering, you visited me bringing me Nevil Shute’s novel ‘On the Beach’. It was an honour to have you share this very bleak novel when I was experiencing what I perceived as a bleak time.

That year our friendship circles entwined. You generously offered me your old guitar when I said that I would like to learn to play. I taught myself cords that summer and we started playing music together. We both played piano, but you could play by ear. What a gift. You have always shared your gifts! Music has been one of the ties that have kept us together over the years. I loved performing with you and still love your poetry put into lyrics and versus.

Our hometown, at that point in history, was such an insular place. You invited me into inlets that I had never known existed. I also took you into my world. We were both children of immigrants- you a first generation and me a second generation. I taught you about the dark magic of my Mediterranean roots, and between Ouija boards, tea leaves, coffee grounds and tarot cards we learned about the future as I let my subconscious be revealed. It gave us both reason to believe in a greater force.

We intuitively gravitated to academic excellence. You were far more adept. I remember taking the bus home with you one day, when I discovered you had two different coloured eyes. I asked, “ what do you think is the revelance.” You kindly corrected, “It is relevance”. I said I thought the word meant ‘to reveal the importance’. You said it meant to raise up and lighten – as in from ignorance. Friend, this marked another unique bond of our friendship.

You are the only person I know who read the dictionary to learn new words. You love to learn languages and can even speak horse, dog, cat and other languages. You are an animal whisper. Such gifts are often underappreciated. I have always felt so pleased that I count as one of your animal friends, your fubsy. I find you are a great animal whisperer.

You have told me that your trick is not to say much, that way people think you are smarter than you may be. It is true. The wise old owl lived in an oak the more he saw the less he spoke the less he spoke the more he heard why can’t we be like that wise bird.

Dear friend- you can hold so many memories- far more than my brain can.

You like history- to me it is a bizarre compilation of facts that summarize trends in big brush strokes- I get lost in detail.

You were an only child; I was one of a brood.

We are so different in so many ways, yet, over the many years I have discovered we are alike in so many other ways.

My friend, thank you for all that we have shared and still share. Your humour, creativity, adventurous spirit and your brutal honesty are especially appreciated. You speak with judgement but are not judgemental. It is delightful knowing that your opinion is based on expertise that holds merit or is acknowledged as a personal quirk. You have always been someone special to me and make me feel special too.

Sending virtual hugs to you my friend, who remains close to my heart even over the miles that separate us. k