Out of the Blue

Lunchtime at my office is a pretty special moment for me.

Not because of the food (god knows I love food.).

Not because I have taken the first word of EAT PRAY LOVE literally, as I continue my spiritual quest....see below.

Lunchtime is just time when I can leave my office....find a spot to ponder...or, because I happen to work in one of the most exciting cities on the planet, actually walk the three blocks to the Capitol or check out a new exhibit at one of the Smithsonian Museums. I could even walk along the Tidal Basin or the Waterfront.

It's really a cool life!

Yesterday the temperature was mild. So, after I ate my sandwich, I decided to find a nice bench and people watch. It's one of my favorite pastimes. It's nothing for me to do this and the President drives by....or the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Or I watch a network journalist doing a standup for the nightly news.

I told you it was a cool life.

But yesterday I found a bench outside of NASA. As I sat under the shade of a tree and relaxed, my cellphone rang.

When I picked it up, it was a man that I have been friends with for a couple of months. He's one of those guys that are too busy for a relationship. He told me that he does not talk on the phone....he hates it. We've had dinner together a number of times.

But I've always felt like the initiator...and I was just tired of that.

So, I let him slide for almost two weeks.

And here he was, on his lunch hour, talking to me on the telephone!

"Wow", I said. "it's you!"

"Yeah," he laughed. "I didn't want you to think I had blown you off or something."

We talked for twenty more minutes. He says that he wants to see me on Monday night when he returns from out of town!

I ended the conversation kind of playfully. "Well, I just want you to know, friend, how blown away I am here. I mean, you said that if I ever have a long phone call with you, it means you like me. So, am I safe to assume that you now like me -- I mean since we've been on this call for almost 30 minutes -- on our lunch hours?" I chuckled.

"Indeed," he said. "I like you...and I like spending time with you."

SCORE!