Faith and Friendship--March 5: Slice of Life Challenge

Last night, amid a perilous forecast of incoming rain and sleet and ice and snow and freezing temperatures, my husband and I hopped in the car and took a leap of faith for a friend.

The weather held.

Our friend Bobby, a lifelong college buddy (with humor to match), was playing at the Fairfield County Theater Company about a thirty-five minute drive from my house.

For most people, sailing out in crazy weather is not a stretch, but for us now, it is.

My husband travels in a sleek orange wheelchair with a Grateful Dead sticker plastered on the back. Ice, of any kind, scares me. When I got home from school, our walkway was covered in a thick, glistening layer of ice.

But Bob has been working hard. We've been to many a dive bar with an array of characters...lounge lizards you'd never see on Cheers. Bob always carried that crowd, lifted them up, made them laugh, welcomed them into his small circle for the night. Belonging is a powerful thing.

And all the while, he practiced his craft...voice lessons, rehearsals, promoting and booking his shows.

And all the while, we showed up and so did many of our other friends, driving down from the Cape or Boston, because that is what friends do.

And last night, Bobby went big time...playing in a small, posh club in lower Fairfield County. The place was packed! And the crowd was ready...and Bob and his band rocked it out. Two hours of no-break, non-stop bluesy, sultry songs like Spooky, Hey Bartender, and a million other memorable tunes.

I was worried about the ice along I-95 and what it would be like driving home.

But the weather held. And so did my faith in Bob.

I'm proud of my friend and his new second life. The creative inside was just waiting all these years to bust out.

And because we knew that, we had to be there. Friends always suit up and show up for friends!