Lets start with Friday night. I surprised Laura by having Heather, Tanya, Molly and Sydni (friends from college that have since relocated to places other than Kansas City) come up for the weekend for somewhat of a going away party. Laura thought it was just going to be her and I eating at McCoys, when SURPRISE! the girls were waiting at a table for us when we got there.
There are a handful of people in my life that are just good people: Self-confident, non-judgmental, witty, genuine, and simply said, fun to be around. These ladies are some of those friends.
It was a carefree night, giggling like high school-ers. We ate. We laughed. We shared secrets and experiences and gave advice. We stayed up till 4am and paid for it the next day. It was one of the best nights I’ve had in a while.
Sunday night was The Life and Times and Boris in Lawrence. Most people’s happy place, or where they feel like everything is right with the world, is while witnessing a sunrise, an evening walk on the beach, or a hot air balloon ride over endless grassy fields. Mine is watching The Life and Times, slightly sweaty, Jaeger and Red Bull in hand surrounded by, once again, good people (Megan, Brandon, John Agee, Rich…) I saw them for the first time six years ago and little has changed including the bass players guitar and Allen Epley’s ability to grow the best beard in human history. They are a huge part of my early twenties and hold somewhat of a nostalgic place in my heart.
It was somewhere between Boris and the hot pink drum kit of a Japanese drummer wearing a glittery vest with no shirt underneath, that I finally understood and related to this quote by Marilyn Mansion:
“Strangely, although music is something to listen to, I think music listens back because there are no judgments. A kid can find something he identifies with or an adult. Here is a place you can go to where there are no judgments.”
