Encounter

You know the story. A friend invites you to some random event, maybe a party or dinner and when you arrive suddenly you are deluged with the meeting of new people. Names and hands are pushed at you in a bewildering barrage of welcomes, questions and smile with maybe a few crushing man hugs with the obligatory three back smack. (urban legend has it that these three bracing back slaps given during a male to male hug with only shoulder and chest contact stand for the phrase "I'm...not...gay.")

So there you are, catching pieces of conversation, standing a bit back, sipping your drink and just watching this whole other world that your friend occupies when you are not with him. Different faces and people, kids maybe milling around, all foreign to you except for the familiar face you came with. Yeah...there he is, but who are these other people again? :P

Sometimes people catch your eye, or maybe it's your head? For whatever reason, in this crowd of strangers there are always a few that seem to have a stronger gravity than others that kind of pull you toward them. Part of it may be physical attraction, possibly the steady direct eye contact, perhaps a turn of phrase, but for whatever reason you sense or feel that this friend of your friend might also be your friend in time.

Such is the case with a guy I met last week. After dinner at a friends house, we all wandered the Plaza, took a walk in the park, grabbed some ice cream at Stonecold and then headed back to my friends place. As we all started going our ways, he grabbed me and seemed eager to talk and share life, so we sat down on the front steps and didn't get up for about 3 hours. Pretty intense if you ask me?

The last few days or so, we have been hanging out more and really digging into each other. Who we are, what we believe, what makes us tick, dreams, aspirations, goals, humor, hobbies and all the various things that we pass our time with. For the record, he is not gay, not by any stretch of the imagination. While he certainly is an attractive and intelligent guy, I have no feelings towards him in that manner.

He is simply my friend.

And he talks about God...a lot.

I guess the one person I did know ended up being a key that opened a door to an entire other world of people and possibility. Guys that make good choices and live amazing lives. That are content in who they are, comfortable in their own skin and accept others for where they are at. A group that I didn't know existed that had been right on the other side of my friends life.

And now I am becoming a part of that.

Encounter = Happy.