Hugging Shakespeare

Went to a conference in London, today -- over in the morning, back this evening; love the Eurostar -- and made one of my best recent decisions: blow off the latter part of the closing cocktail thingy, and meet up with my old friend Shakespeare for some mojitos and some mo' huggos before the return trip. Shakespeare and me been friends for twenty years, since Chapel Hill college days, and I think she's only gotten more beautiful as she's mellowed into who she is. And that's saying something; she started out a stunner. Now, it's never right to start a description of someone by saying how good looking they are, but with some people it would just be a lie to start anywhere else. I don't feel so bad about it in Shakespeare's case, though: we haven't been friends for twenty years because of how she looks. But we don't talk frequently enough, and we haven't gotten to look at each other good and long for a bunch too many years. Hell, she ain't even been to Paris! Three margaritas/mojitos later, and a whole lot of talk about the search for joy, and the girding of ones loins on the road thereto, we kissed each other's foreheads and said goodbye, with promises of Shakespeare in Paris in February. * * * For those of you following Flame-Haired Angel's path to Costume Design stardom, she's meeting with the Costume Director of the Sydney Theater Company as I write this, and she's already gotten an offer to work on a short film in January. She just rocks. ..