Lunch in the swaying towers

It feels more like March than April today.
I went downtown to meet a friend of
mine from my old PipeLine days for lunch.
We both worked in the oil and gas sector,
and she still works in energy. Sometimes
it knocks me out how friends of mine
remain the same. She looks like the
fresh faced girl who first walked into my
office when it was swaying high up in
the winds of Commerce Court. In a wind like
this the doors used to open and shut by
themselves all along the hallway. The elevator
would scrape ominously against the side of
the elevator shaft, making an unholy sound of
metal on concrete.

There is a wind warning, which seems appropriate
for April 1. When I was a child my mother had
one excellent prank that she pulled on us year
after year. She used to change the time on all
the clocks in the house, and wake us up an hour
early for school, then shout "April Fools!" into
our sleepy faces. Thinking about that now I can't
help laughing, and imagining my mother as a
young woman, with four children to get off to
school, dying for some fun. Most of the time
our lives were fairly serious. The house followed
a set routine, and we all did whatever we were
expected to do. But every now and then there
would be a mood of extra fun and gaiety.

Most of the parents I know now are not so
earnest about the job. They know how to have
fun with their kids, and the atmosphere is much
more relaxed. Still I think my love of celebration
comes from my mother, and her determination
to see that we had some special times.

I'll have to take a better photo of this
painting. It was on a high wall at our
show, and this is the best image we could
get there. But hey. It's called Friends Waiting.

Have a gusty day.