May 28, 2019. Canyon Lake, Texas. Old Friends.

Nothing better than getting together with old friends. Marilyn and Tuppen have driven here from Houston to visit me at the lake. They arrived just after 2:00. We have been talking ever since. We knew each other in Galveston in the 60s. We were friends back then and we are friends now. Our paths have gone different ways but here we are together again. Tuppen was married to Gleb, who at the time was a medical student. He was a friendly guy and there was nothing to tell you that at some time he was going to go off the rails. But he did. He worked in Houston and they bought a lovely old home. Then he decided to have a divorce. Now he lives in China. We attended the film festivals together in Galveston and entertained each other in our homes. Only once did Ken mention to me that he thought that Gleb was odd. I just liked him and his Norwegian wife Tuppen, who was and still is a Physical Therapist at 79. Marilyn and her husband George were both Internal Medicine Residents in Galveston. They were married before medical school. They had three children. After we moved to Maryland, they came to visit us. At the time, George was obsessed with the Watergate hearings. He insisted in watching every minute, even refusing to eat dinner at the table. We enjoyed their visit but Ken commented that he thought that George was going to have difficulty in the future because he seemed to care nothing except what he wanted to do. Ken was correct. George went to law school and graduated. But he could not find a job that combined his two degrees so he went to work at a clinic, which he could have done right after his residency. Marilyn was working as a Doctor for the City of Houston. Three years later he took up with the secretary and asked for a divorce. Then he became an alcoholic. And he died young. Ken was correct. George had a lot of trouble in his life. But Tuppen and Marilyn have thrived in Houston. Now they come to visit me every few years and we play catch up. Both Marilyn and I live alone now. Tuppen still works 32 hours a week. She visits her family each year in Norway. I appreciate them driving to visit me at the lake. Some year they might even get to Mississippi. That would be another happy day when the three friends get together again for more talking.