The Diary
of
Anne Ku

27 January 2001 Saturday

OPEN SEA, OPEN AIR

The cure for "that couped up feeling" is to spend time outside, in the open. Today I drove south to see my old friend Wanda from Okinawa. Having known each other for twenty years, we were not "couped up."

The seafront stretched forever. The horizon reached the sky. We walked from the boardwalk to the beach, in the sand, and on the piers. The sky was big, and the sun was still high.

We walked and talked, oblivious to the cars that passed by and the kids that played. The sea breeze was strong but warm enough to fill our lungs with nature's blood. We saw couples holding hands. We saw children running around.

Years ago, I had brought my mother and brother here. It was too hot then. This place is bigger than the seawall near my home in Okinawa. But it has none of the nostalgia of home.

I can't remember the exact contents of our conversation, only that we finally got to the most important topic of all late in the day. At the end of the evening, I concluded that friendship doesn't exist by itself. "You don't have to work on acquaintances," she said. "But with friendship, you have to work at it." As soon as I got home, I called Lemondrops. "Sorry, I wasn't there for you when you needed me."

Yesterday

Tomorrow

True friends are there for you, whenever you need them. They don't ask for anything, but always willing to give. You can be completely yourself with them. There is no facade. There is no charade. What else are friends for?