Jun
Crazy or Not?
Back in the bad old days, a friend of my drinking crew was Crazy Janie. She was a few years older than most of us. We met her at a bar where we used to stop to play pool. It was not a regular hangout for us, but a stop on the way home.
One night, I stayed at the gin mill longer than usual. The weather turned very bad. It was the middle of winter and we had a blizzard. My friends left early. The buses had stopped running. Crazy Janie offered to let me stay at her place.
I had to consider the options. Janie was a few years older, overweight and the perennial frump. On top of that, she really was crazy. If I stayed at her place, I would probably get accused of sleeping with her. If I did not, the walk home would have been long and grueling. Here were my options: freeze and suffer, or get the reputation of having a fling with a crazy lady. I figured it would be easier to weather a couple weeks of ribbing than freezing in the snow.
To add to the adventure, the heat was working poorly in Janie’s apartment, and then the electric went out. It was cold in there! Warmth meant huddling together under the covers. We spent a good part of that night shivering and holding each other.
By morning, the heat and electricity were working. Janie and I got dressed and went to the diner for breakfast. There was snow everywhere. At the diner, it was like any of the dozens of times we had gone there before. Janie mentioned that if I had not stayed at her place, she would have had a very uncomfortable, freezing night alone.
That was when it hit me. I had been pretty foolish. Janie was my friend. I liked her just as she was. We were not headed for romance, but we were very comfortable with each other. Neither the weight nor age nor frumpiness mattered. Likewise, it did not matter if the crew thought we were intimate or not.
Sometimes we get caught up in superficial and silly things. We worry about trivial appearances, or the opinions of folks who really do not count for much. Sometimes it takes a simple necessity to put it all into perspective. Superficial trivialities count as nothing compared to a friend. In my case, Janie counted for a lot more than a bunch of drinking buddies.
Ironically, the heat went out in Janie’s building again, and she spent two days at my place.
As to whether anything else happened between Janie and I, well, folks can just keep guessing.
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Janie’s life took some odd turns. She became involved with a longtime friend of hers. I did not run into her much after that. Janie married him, and initially they were happy. Sadly, the marriage did not work out. About a year after that, family of hers asked her to move close to them and work in their business. Janie gave it a try. All the pieces came together. Everything worked out well for Janie after that. Sometimes folks need to get to a certain place. Janie got to hers. It is but another turning of Wyrd
