i get by with a little help from my friends...

Last night was the first night HomeBoy and I slept at home in three days. We're finally having the downstairs floors refinished and we couldn't walk on them. The sanding and such began on Wednesday, so that morning we were cast out into the wilderness. Packing a suitcase to go to work is one of the strangest things... We had a plan of course, we would sleep in the car if it came to that. But it didn't because apparently, we are not all alone in this Midwestern world.

I thought this would be a sad post about how we realized that we had no one to call on and how terrible it is to live so far away from your family, etc (cue the violins). Instead, we have come to a beautiful revelation - we are not alone or without friends. Don't get me wrong, we can meet people and be social and all that, but that's easy. Asking people for favors is hard, even if they are your friends. Asking people to encroach upon their personal space for a number of days is even harder. Maybe it's my pride that makes it so hard to ask? Well, this was a lesson in humility. I reached out to two different friends, asking if I could stay with them, and they both said yes. Easy-breezy, "yes". (The second friend was actually going out of town, but her intentions were good.)

HomeBoy was going to "rough it" while I stayed with this Beneficent Friend, but after the first night, he changed his tune. So I went back to Beneficent Friend and asked if there was room in the inn for one more, and again, "yes". Like it's the simplest question she'd ever been asked. We stayed on for two more days. As our stay concluded, we bought Beneficent Friend a gift and took her to dinner; it was the least we could do. I'm not sure if she realized what a big deal that was to us - to me. It may seem to her that she simply opened her doors to a couple of friends in need. To me it showed that we were indeed friends, for-real, more-than-pleasantries, i-need-a-big-favor friends. To me it showed that in the vast, landlocked Midwestern world, we were not alone.

As a Muslim and spiritual person for most of my life, I shouldn't be surprised. I know, from experiences as well as recorded accounts, that Allah can provide if Allah so wills. I cannot even count how many times I've heard, "ask and ye shall receive". Yet, every time some wonderful blessing befalls me, I am still shocked and awed; I am still left wondering what have I done so good to warrant this? I still can't answer that question, but Allah knows best, and the Beatles said it best, "I get by with a little help from my friends."

tis' better to give...

HomeBoy and I, we're not really materialistic people... I mean, comparatively speaking... I mean, we do okay but mostly because we can be a couple of serious spendthrifts. Add to that the fact that we're Muslim, and there ain't a whole lotta typical gift-giving going on. Plus, we're pretty self-reliant people; if he wants something - he'll get it, and I do the same.

HOWEVER! When I returned from this theater festival last weekend, I came home to a print of one of my favorite poems*, my very own mp3 player and a deluxe edition DVD of Across the Universe. (Oh yeah!) And last night? I treated my beloved to Alicia Keys, live at the Sprint Center.

Like I said, we don't do the gifting often, but dammit if we don't do it right! Love you, honey!

***

*imagine

you massage the universe's spine,
the way you twirl through time
and leave shadows on the sun
my love is the windsong
if it were up to me
i`d never die
if it is up to me
i'll die tomorrow a thousand times in an hour
just to live seven minutes later
if it is up to me
the sun will never cease to shine
and the moon will never cease to glow
and i'll dance a million tomorrow's
in the sun rays of the moon waves
and bathe in the yesterdays
of days to come
ignoring all of my after thoughts
and preconceived notions
if it is up to me
...it is up to me
and thus, is my love
untainted
eternal
the wind is the moon's imagination
wandering
it seeps through cracks
ripples the grass
explores the unknown
my love is my soul`s imagination
how do i love you?
...imagine.

-saul williams