'Moments Made Precious'

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” ~Henry Drummond~

'Always and Forever' by Henry Lee Battle

Moments, I personally cherish those moments that continue to captivate the romantic or the fool for love in me. Tonight, Friday October 7, 2011 at 10:37 pm I'm etching a moment in time that I, along with talking my best friend into being in two places hundreds of miles apart within a 36 hour window some 4 years ago to this day. 

My best friend Anthony Robinson and I

I laugh and think of numerous times my best friend and I can laugh at the things we've both done for 'LOVE' and this occasion is definitely high on the list of 'What were you thinking when it made perfect sense you can make this a reality? That is, drive through the night from Raleigh, NC to Indianapolis, IN to get there by 7 am Saturday to set up his tent (vendor's space) in downtown Indianapolis for the 2007 Circle City Classic, an annual event that is one of America's top football classics and favorite weekend celebrations.

Circle City Classic Parade

The vendor sight was located in an open plaza area outside of the Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts and opens for business around 10/11 am and runs through midnight. Once we breakdown, we planned on loading up and hitting the road immediately to our second destination, Richmond, VA. Why? So that I could meet up with the lovely lady that had set my heart afire for the final day/hours of the 2nd Street Festival, another one of those annual events that we've actually worked together, but this time I'm going as a romantic outing. The picture above of my best friend and I is from that event the year prior to this trip. 

If you haven't already started thinking through what I've shared, the insanity that made perfect sense to me yeah blinded by LOVE, with 2 drivers it'll be manageable by simply taking turns driving. Never mind the facts - We drove 11 hours through the night, set up for vending all of Saturday, breakdown and hit the road some time after 1am to drive for another 10 plus hours, the only rest we had in the passed 24 plus hours was in a passenger seat of an uncomfortable cargo van. In spite of all that, we made it a mission possible... We decided on me starting the journey, to knockout a hour and he'll take over for a bit. Well, I put in a little over a hour and it felt brutal towards the end goal point I had in mind, to make it to Cincy before I traded places to rest. I couldn't hand the wheel over to him fast enough when I pulled over into a gas station. I'm feeling pretty comfortable that he's experienced at being on the road with his business, with a lot of his road trips done by himself, I quickly faded as he drove me closer to my destiny.. so to speak.. love is in the air and all I can think about is that when I'm awaken to drive we will be much closer to where my heart is... in Richmond, VA!

When my best friend took over, we were in Cincinnati  so I felt pretty good about the time it took me to get there from Indianapolis. I drifted off to sleep to only be abruptly awaken by him exiting the highway. So I'm thinking, "it's my turn to drive already?" So my initial question was, "Is everything alright, you need me to drive now?" He replied, "Yeah man, I need another hour, I'm beat." I replied, "Okay cool, so where are we?" And when that dude! My best friend replied, "Cincinnati." I bout lost my mind, "WHAT?!! CINCINNATI??? Dude I gave you the wheel in Cincinnati... I look at the time,  you mean to tell me we've been driving in a circle for over a hour and half!?!" He was babbling, making no sense to how we ended up back in Cincinnati. 

I can laugh now but at that MOMENT my best friend was not my friend! We lost over a hour and half and we still have 9 hours of driving to do! Well, the one good thing about that incident, it had me fired up and I drove the remainder of the night until the break of dawn.  I counted down the miles to when I'll get to that Lovely Lady who had my heart singing, and now that I'm reflecting, this a precious moment in time that has me singing to the tune of Cee lo Green ft. Melanie Fiona - 'Fool for you'. Love this song.

Well, we made it safely to my destination, the Downtown Marriott, which would be my overnight stay and within walking distance of the festival. My lovely lady greeted me downstairs, we hugged and kiss and carried on the it's good to see you, I missed you conversation in the hotel room in a cuddle position. Bad move! As I snuggled up behind her all I can remember, being awaken by my slobbering on her shoulder. Laughing too hard, but HEY! What you expect was going to happen after that kind of travel? Too funny! Well, we did make it out to the festival, enjoyed a wonderful dinner and evening.

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Moments made precious is how I like to reflect on moments that stay with me long after it has passed. And on that note, I like share another piece of my mind, titled 'Moments Made Precious'.

Midnight Snack by Henry Lee Battle

‘Moments made precious'

As I rewind
in my mind to a time
when I could lay claims to you
being mine
I smile and think of how...
Precious were the moments spent…

The 'hand in hand' strolls…

The loving gaze into your eyes…
The outburst of laughter...
The uncontrollable perkin'
of my cheeks to smile…
The soft passionate kisses...

Now that I got your attention...
Let us both rewind
in our minds to a time
we both have laid claims to knowing
thine hearts.
I smile and think of how...
Precious were the moments given

The selfless acts of givin'
with no strings attached…
The heart warming embraces
in times of need…
The comfort of knowing
our love is 'unconditional'…
The willingness to undress
our thoughts,
our fears
knowing it's okay
to shed a tear...

Now that we're both smiling and thinkin'...
Let us both not just rewind
in our minds to a time
we both have lay claims
to what a treasure find
our love has been.
But make it a conscious decision to
allow our hearts
to embrace the moments
of our past...
And lace those moments with renewed...

'Moments made precious'.

Terry Reese
(c) January 2009