Met an old high school buddy this morning for breakfast. He just published his first novel, and I wanted to get a personal note added by him. I drove 50+ miles to meet him, despite his offer to meet me closer to my side of town, but I figure I could see another old friend while in the area, my old hiking spot from years ago.
David and I attended high school together over 30 years ago, but some of the memories stood out like they happened yesterday. But a lot has happened in that time frame, and a very non-detailed overview is all an hour breakfast meeting offers, with kids in college, divorce, and life touching us step by step, but continuously over the course of our post-high school lives.
Some people retain their basic personality and goodness for the course of their lives, despite going through the trials and disappointments that face us all. Some I have tried to reconnect with, mainly through Facebook, are no longer the same person. People like David get banged up by life but somehow draw the line when their core beliefs are challenged, and I'm sure a solid foundation at home had much to do with it. It's still hard to figure why some people crumble under life's burdens and others refuse to give that last mile in retreat.
After a rather large omelet and pancake breakfast at IHOP, topped off with lots of coffee, David and I bid each other goodbye until we can arrange another get-together, and I headed over to Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park to do some hiking. I brought my camera along and took some trail shots for an upcoming blog. This is the other old friend. I have hiked the two mile round trip many times in the pas when I lived in Marietta, and I hoped to extend today's hike to a four or five mile round trip through a series of trails. I was reminded why such a breakfast doesn't go well with August hikes, however, as I approached the summit. I made it to the top of the mountain, a one mile hike, and then returned. The scenery was nice, as I remembered it, but I will return with less food in my system.
The weather forecast turned out to be somewhat accurate. A spike in the rain chance was forecast between 10 and 11 am, but it didn't hit until around 12:30. I had completed my walk down the mountain, walked through the park's gift shop and museum, and then walked the 1/4 mile to the overflow parking area that I had parked in. A very light drizzle started on my way to the car, and a few minutes after I loaded my backpack in the trunk the bottom dropped out of the clouds and a deluge hit. Good timing, indeed. A nice day.
