So after the Def Lep tour I took a flight up to Yorkshire for a few days to see my Mom and catch up with a couple of my best mates.. Hadn't been back to my birth place in over two years since Spencer lost his fight with leukemia... Anyway, understandably I was here under much better circumstances than previously, the weather was nice, it was relatively warm by English summer standards and all the trees had foliage.... Smashing! Mom picks me up at the airport and after a short drive to chez Mom we're off for a pub lunch and a pint. Nice return and a traditionally frosty greeting from the bloke behind the bar... Dunno where customer service has gone these days but it obviously took off with the barman's humor bypass surgery...

Spent the next few days catching up with some old friends and hanging out with my Mom... It was strange being back. After so long in the United States I feel completely like a foreigner in the UK. Time stands still for no man I guess and people and places change. Everything has a strange sense of familiarity of course but the day to day things are different. Saw my mates Staffy and Kev and had a great night out at the pubs with them. Dazzling Daz who also went to school with Spen and I turned up at the pub rather toasty for the early time of night which was funny. Had a blast catching up with the guys and telling tales of yore, even ran into some old faces from as far back as middle school 25 years ago! Some of them I hardly recognized but it sure was nice to catch up after so long.


Took a morning to myself the day before I left and went to the other side of town to the graveyard to visit Spencer's grave. It's hard to describe the way one feels standing over your best friends grave looking at a headstone bearing his name and the years of his lifetime.... Surreal. On one hand I remember clearly the day of his funeral and on the other I can't believe that my best mate has been gone for over two years now. Even today I still feel like a big part of me is missing because we were robbed of Spencer. Swapping stories about him with his other mates is a great healer though and for that I am grateful.

The four days passed quickly. Was a great working trip with the Def Lep guys and seeing my Mom and best friends was a complete bonus.

Long long plane ride home, delayed two hours getting away from Manchester, delayed at Newark so my flight instead of landing home at 6pm ended up being half past midnight.... Absolutely exhausted but Daisy Buttons was sure glad to see her Daddy!