Moving up on My Best Friends List........

I can't believe I didn't write about this when it happened. I may have, but I can't remember. And if I can't remember, I'm hoping against hope that you can't remember it either. If I did write about it. Which I can't remember.

A couple of weeks ago (which can be anything from yesterday to something that happened in 1979), I was riding my bike through town. I usually stick to back roads and stay away from town, but I kept changing my mind about which way I wanted to ride, and pretty soon the only way home was to go back 40 miles the way I had come or ride through town. Repeating 40 miles is almost never in my game plan.

I got trapped at an intersection by a train. Our town is so small that a passing train can paralyze the entire operation. Since I had to wait for the train, I circled through the parking lot of a convenience store a few times, and I noticed a Pepsi truck. Hubby being retired from Pepsi and all, I still tend to notice their trucks. The driver was loading some drinks onto a handtruck, and I recognized him as one of Hubby's buddies, someone I had met a few times. Having nothing else to do, I rode over to where he was standing and spoke to him. He is a very, very nice man, soft-spoken but friendly, and I've never heard him say a harsh word about anything or anyone. One of the good guys. I have no idea why he and Hubby are friends. Just kidding.

I told him my name, since I thought he might not figure out who I was without Hubby with me. He has one of those million-dollar smiles that light up the entire face.

"I didn't recognize you," he said. "You done lost a BUNCH of weight."

Bless him.

He could just as easily have said any number of other things.

"I didn't recognize you in spandex."

"I didn't recognize you in that goober helmet."

"I didn't recognize you behind those sunglasses."

"I didn't think I knew anyone stupid enough to ride a bicycle through town when traffic is backed up by a train."

But he didn't say any of those things. He commented on my weight loss. Just a casual friend of Hubby's, someone who has met me half a dozen times at most.

He's my new BFF.