One or two of you may remember the coast-to-coast trip I did in 36 hours in May 2004 to go back to Boston for my college singing group’s 10-year reunion.  The whirlwind trip in which I traveled 6,000+ miles in less than a day and a half and got 5 hours of sleep over the course of 3 days. 

What I didn’t mention was one of the main reasons why I didn’t get much sleep on that trip.  Sure, it was great to see all of my old friends who I hadn’t seen in years and there was much singing and reminiscing and catching up—and there’s also the fact that I can’t really sleep on planes, so I didn’t sleep on the redeye out to Boston.  But a main contributor to my lack of sleep was a very enchanting woman I met that night.  We ducked out of the afterparty and sat out on the porch of the party house for over an hour, just talking.

Forget for a moment that she was the girlfriend of one of the guys in the group (not one of the guys I used to sing with, one of the guys who was in the group at that time).  Forget for a moment that I lived on the other side of the country and was leaving in the morning.  Just see the lightning charge that bound us that night.  No, we didn’t hook up.  We just… talked.  I’d met her at the show earlier that night—we’d chatted briefly and I sensed a kindred spirit in her, so when I felt overwhelmed for a moment at the party, I invited her to come outside and chat, and she accepted.  So we talked.  For over an hour before we realized we were out there alone and should probably get back to the party.  Conversation flowed incredibly easily on so many levels.  We just… understood each other.  It was almost like Garden State where I saw someone wise beyond her years and the connection just fused between us, and I was just in awe of this amazing person who also seemed pretty interested in who I was as well.  I left the party at 4am.  Three hours later, I was on a plane back to Los Angeles with my overnight bag and her e-mail address.  We e-mailed back and forth for several months, but lost touch after she moved to New York. 

I last heard from her 15 months ago.  While driving out to Tucson this past weekend, in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere, I heard a song on XM that reminded me of that night… which made me think of her.  I e-mailed her over the weekend asking if she remembered me, but have yet to get a response.  And then I checked the alumni database on our alma mater’s website and found she’s already moved in with her then-boyfriend, since they both have the same address listed.  At this point, I don’t know if I’ll get a response… and I’m not sure I want to.

You know how they say that there may not be 1 person out there for us, there may be several?  My only question, then, is… how many of those several can you meet before you run out, because I’ve already met a few.

Crowded House - “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
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