Catching A Vibe

I believe in a greater connection––and not the Internet––that we all share but seldom use.

What the hell am I talking about? That feeling that someone is talking about you. The feeling like you've been there, done that before. (Yeah, I know it's called deja vu. Thanks, Yogi). The feeling that comes when out of the blue, you think of someone you haven't thought of for a long time. It's been happening to me a lot lately. But yesterday when it happened, it was just really too weird.

With all the hype surrounding Stephen Strasburg, I guess that San Diego State has been rolling around my brain. I went to SDSU for 2 years. OK, I was enrolled and didn't get to class much. But it was 2 of the best years of my life. And a big part of my fun time was attributed to having a great dorm roommate, Ralph. Ralph and I hit it off from the get go. Both played hoops. Journalism majors. Loved music. And debauchery was always only a half thought away. Little did I know that Ralph had been thinking of our times at SDSU and beyond as well. (We roomed together in the "Astrodome" in South Pas, but that's another post for another time.) I found him on the interweb and sent him an email asking "is this the Ralph who" and if it was, to send me back a confirmation. This is part of what I got––after a few things he said which I will not post here for fear of having to explain some of my college misadventures to way too many people––back. "was at the hilton the night before departure and i was on the can reading about LA and there's a section on Eagle Rock...Bro..I sent the vibe two Sats ago as I sat there (lol required) and thought of the "No Mas" fight we watched in Eagle Rock....freak!!! And you have my permission to add this to your blog."

I have been smiling, laughing and shaking my head ever since yesterday. I feel like a gap in my life has been filled. The cancer disconnected a lot in my brain––as I've said before, it's called chemo brain––and working the memory muscle can be very frustrating when it doesn't work. Thanks to my brother from another mother, Ralph, I'm starting to put together some more pieces in my brain. And will undoubtedly get back to California and see if we can meet in the middle, as he now lives in NoCal and my family is in SoCal.

Ralph, thanks for the vibe. I really needed it.