Mingus

Good friend and Iraq teammate, Dr. Mingus, is coming for a visit. He lives in the far reaches of heathen country (Michigan) but was lucky enough to have a conference that brought him South. None of us in Iraq were ever sure if Mingus had a first name. I think it actually may be “Doctor”. Ol’ Kev and I used to mimic Seinfeld when he discovered that his obnoxious neighbor, Newman, was up to no good. We’d realize that something was afoul and automatically clinch our fists and rue the name, “Mingus”. Far from being a fly in the ointment, Mingus was a valuable addition to our team and did a very good job. The rascal could put together the best powerpoints in our group. He will be the first of my Iraq buddies to visit me. Kev might eventually pay a visit to Welch. I doubt if Dennis will. Or, JR or Danny or Jerry. Alabama is a little off their paths. In honor of Mingus’ visit, I picked and shelled purple-hull peas this morning. Picked a mess of squash and some pretty tomatoes. Thought I would make a pone of cornbread. And, I have the wild idea of making a banana pudding for dessert. On Monday, we are driving down to Montgomery to catch a Biscuits’ game. He has to leave very early on Tuesday morning. I cleaned the house and changed the sheets. Used half a gallon of Pine-Sol in hopes of getting the cigarette smoke and dog smell out of the house. While I was in Joplin last week, Tinker and his girlfriend stayed here. Both smoke and she has two indoor dogs. Mingus is a clean freak and will probably opt to sleep in my truck rather than in the house. I tried to warn him that my life is pretty simple here. Of course, it was in Iraq, too. But, nobody is firing rockets at me here which makes Welch a bit more casual and relaxed.

I have been fortunate to have had met some very good people in my life. But, I tend to practice minimalism in my private life just I do in my material one. I have let too many good friends go. It is a case of being entirely my fault. I write Christmas cards every year but that is a tacit admission that I do not do the things necessary to keep a friendship alive. To my recollection, I do not have any boyhood friends, no college friends, no grad school friends, a slim few Missouri friends, and a few Iraq friends that, because of my neglect, are hanging by a thread. I do have a couple of friends from my days as a city manager. I am determined to hang on to them. Just as I am determined to hang on to Mingus and Kev and the others from Iraq. Like a garden, a friendship has to be tended. Don’t expect to enjoy the fruits without the sweat to grow them.