Special Connections

People cross our paths every day, and we don't remember most of them. Some stand out for whatever reason - maybe because of a facial feature or something they are wearing.

Even the people we formally meet can fade into the past. I have had friends who are no longer a part of my life. They have just faded away. Some for good reasons, others, just because there was nothing left to talk about.

I have been so blessed to have some very special people come into my life, and stay.
One of those people is Jim Nave.

I call him Nave. (pronounced Navay because I cannot find the mark to go on top of the e.)
He was the first to come into my life and stay. The story of how we met and became friends is quite interesting. This is a very short version.

A friend (who has faded) invited me to a cast party at his home. Nave was there. I can't describe in this post how intense this meeting was. I remember he held my thumb, and it seemed like the rest of the room was fuzzy. There were people there, but he was the only person who was really in-focus. We talked, we went for a walk, and I remember sitting on a low brick or rock wall not far from my friend's house, talking.

Nave was living in another state, and we struck up a pen pal relationship. I visited him, and a relationship was born. Over the years (17, I think now - WOW) I have felt a special connection with him. For many years, whenever I was having a really hard time, a bad day, or just felt glum, I would find a letter from Nave in the mailbox. It always included some exotic post mark, and wonderful descriptions of where he was at that very moment.

Nave is a poet, and a performer, and teaches writing workshops all over the world. You can find out more about that here. He rubs elbows with some of the famous people, and it reminds me of how small the world really is when I read about his adventures. Here's this man who knows a lot of people with recognizable names, and he knows me too- this Southern Girl just trying to make it all count somehow in the Northwest.

And he has written a poem about me. View it here and click on poetry, it's the one called The Ghost of Sam Cooke.