The one that got away
Five hundred words. Five hundred steps. Five hundred pounds. Five hundred books. This is how we measure things in life. Five hundred television channels and nothing to watch. Five hundred hours that I will never get back. I’ve measured out my life in coffee spoons – thanks Prufrock. Fifty years ago it was a dashing young man who stole my heart and broke me forever. Kevin took my breath away the first time I met him in the Brahma Room at St Bernard College. I had gone in with my then-roommate Janice as we felt our way around the new experience of college life. He came over and introduced himself and I always suspected he was after blonde Janice but I was smitten and somewhat tongue-tied. A brief flirtation followed and my heart sank every time he seemed to land on someone else’s arm. For me there was intense chemistry that is strong today and never duplicated in my complicated life since then. Spring that first year was glorious. I had moved on from Kevin to Benny the previous