Vacation Over

Just returned from a week in beautiful midtown Manhattan. The land of my birth, old friends, and a realization that there is more money to be made there, per square foot or any other way you want to measure it, than anywhere else on the planet. I stayed in the A.C., saw a friend off into matrimony, and rekindled some good old friendships. Ruminated on the fact that friendship is a renewable contract, but there is no option written into the contract that makes the renewal automatic. Maintaining a friendship takes effort. Maybe even work. And people change. Even me.

But I realized two things. Old friends are worth the effort. And I have the best marriage. To the best girl. There is.

Sorry to be so personal. I know it's not my style. But I just had to get this out. Later, or tomorrow, I will get back to correcting the ills of planet Earth. But right now, it is good to be home. It is good to be married. Weddings tend to reinforce one's own feelings about the institution of marriage. When I was a confirmed bachelor, I would have felt sorry for the wedding participants. Today, I feel lucky to no longer be one of the singles. Watching Sex and the City actually makes me feel sorry for the characters. And anyone else who is jealous of the tawdry, lonely life those harridans lead. Sixteen years ago, they would have been my dream dates. Any one of them.

I'd better stop before I get icky. The thing about being a Reactionary Conservative is that the old values run strong in my blood. And I love my wife. I love being married. To her.