“Happy Birthday Puss-Ears.”
- Mark Pugmire and Kevin Young
It was late on my birthday when two messages popped up on my phone. They were from numbers I didn’t recognize. But, when my eyes quickly scanned the messages they instantly recognized the words as though cloaked from memories past.
“Happy Birthday Puss-Ears!”
The words penetrated my eyes and flew deep into the recesses of my mind and I knew in an instant who had sent them and I felt a warmth of remembrance begin to fill my chest and glow over the rest of my body. Remembering the origin of this term was as the sunrise over mountain peaks. It started with a faint glow and then burst in full glory on my mind.
Mark and Kevin had imagined this term when we were teenagers. We were out late in the night; I was wearing a “hoody”, the temperatures dropped, my ears were cold so I reached behind my neck and hoisted the hood over my head to cover my icicle ears.
“Puss-Ears,” they sniggered with glee!
It was with the same kind of glee that I picked up my phone the following day to call my two long-time friends to thank them for remembering me. During one of the calls it was my friend Mark who said, “How long has it been since we’ve talked?” It had been a long time; too long!
In fact, it had been so long that as my buddy told me of his battle and victory over cancer I was rendered to a tearful stupor of speech. I was thrilled over his victory but was breathless due to the anvil that had crushed my heart for my absence during his time of life and death struggle.
At the end of our conversation we spoke of getting together and we will, because my view of the transience of friendship was changed forever. When you realized that present time is all you have, because the future contains only myths manufactured by your mind, you become a new actor; one fully engaged in devouring what life offers you in the moment.
I invite you to join me in becoming a collector of moments. When a friend calls and you speak of scheduling a rendezvous do it then, on the spot. If you wait, the moment is gone forever; there will be no calling it back. So, snatch each instance you can and you’ll experience a life well and joyously lived.
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