The Guest List, Page 1

Part of the excitement of moving away is having guests. No one ever flew to Lexington to stay with me, so the only visitors I got, aside from Amy Louise and the nice boys who always escorted her in the hopes that she would love them, were day visitors... usually lured there with the promise of good food and lots to drink. Times have changed, so now when people visit it's for days at a time... oh, and there's nothing in the refrigerator and the only thing to drink besides water or fat free organic milk is sitting in the cooler up at the corner liquor store. Fortunately, my friends have always been understanding of how bad I am at being a friend.

My first guest got here on Wednesday, and I am privileged to have shared her 28th birthday in my new town. Liz, dear elijah, Maples has come to El-A to brighten my life with her beaming smile and to show me my world with a fresh pair of green eyes.

The best part of Liz is how she looks at things, how simple stuff that I write off as dumb or not worth looking at she greets with a hearty laugh and a camera. With Liz the walk down the street is as interesting as the over-anticipated destination, sometimes even better. You never know what's going to catch her eye, what's going to make her snicker, what's going to get her stopping in the middle of the street to pull out her camera and take a picture. You never know what her keen view of the world is going to open up to you.

Her sense of wonder isn't all that makes her my #1 guest. She's also got the most incredible arsenal of knowledge about just about everything. I didn't think anyone could go toe to toe with Mack for the title of Most Knowledgeable in the Universe until the other night at dinner, when Liz had this to share. (Sorry it's so dark, and no, I have no idea what she is talking about since I was in my chip/salsa/salt ritual eating zone out mode.)

It's been great having Liz here, and I'm so proud of her for taking the bus all over town and impressed that the girl has more friends in El-A than I do and I live here. What can I say, she's Elijah, and she's a dear.

Thanks for visiting me, Liz. I love you!

(** Betsy and Seth were my actual first guests, but since they rode out here with me, they were sort of hosts too, so I can't count them until they come back. Just want to make sure the Guest List rules are understood... Up Next: RUBLE in October!!)