One year ago, I published this blog post after spending an exciting evening at the Providence Waterfire. The event left an impression on me, but I never could have dreamed that 52 Saturdays later, I would be standing in the same spot with my dear friend from almost 4,000 miles away. Going to the waterfire with Stefan was a totally different experience; seeing the awe in his eyes at the scenes that lay in front of us, sharing our deep thoughts with each other, enjoying the occasion and wishing it could have lasted longer.
Stefan’s journey here has been marked with adventures large and small, moments and memories captured in our minds and on a modest film camera (but that is a story all of it’s own). We have done more together than could be shared on this blog, and yet so much remains undone. By the time of our next blog post, he will be finishing up his trip in NYC, and shortly thereafter heading home to Austria. When we finally part ways, I will say a heartfelt ichigo ichie, but not sayonara. We have enjoyed this adventure as fully as possible, making the best of things when Murphy’s Law struck our plans down. The question now becomes: when will we meet again?