The following was written one winter in a moment of absolute clarity.
Mood music:
[spotify:track:27xIf7tzHPQFX068pFYlAh]
Today was sunny and warm in San Francisco. After the never-ending winter back home, I got what I needed today: A walk all over the city with my good friend, Rob Westervelt.
We started by walking along Fisherman’s Wharf, then Golden Gate Park and covered a lot of ground in between.
It brought back memories of when I came here with Sean Marley in 1991. We flew into San Francisco, rented a car and spent the next 10 days driving all over California, sleeping in the car, going days without a shower and eating pasta from cans. We went as far north as Eureka and as far south as L.A., where we spent a weekend before driving back to San Francisco. Too bad I spent half the time letting my fears get the better of me.
I’ve said it before: Too much dreary, cold weather sinks me into a stretch of melancholy. Today was excellent medicine. Now I’m relaxing in the hotel room writing in this diary and listening to Danzig and The Decemberists.
It was especially good to spend the day with Rob. We’ve been friends for a few years now, having worked together at Searchsecurity.com. We were a potent team, creating a lot of great podcasts and video together. We’ve gone on long jaunts through San Francisco and Las Vegas. When we worked in the same building we’d get together for morning workouts in the office gym.
We’ve kept the friendship going strong since I left to be senior editor at CSO Magazine, having lunch frequently, sometimes once a week.
He used to be Catholic and converted to the Jewish Faith. I did exactly the opposite.
He’s one of those guys I can truly be myself around. We laugh a lot.
One of the many friendships God sent my way to help me through some of my greatest trials.
I truly believe that The Holy Spirit manifests itself in the people around you, those who stick with you when your spiraling downward and when you’re on the way back up.
That, my friends, is another tool of recovery.
There have been times in my life where I didn’t have many friends. Good friends moved away or died, so for a long time I was afraid to get too close to people.
Doing so in the last three or so years has been a big leap of Faith.
It has helped me recover and find a new happiness.
Tomorrow the RSA security conference begins and I’ll see many more friends from my industry.
It’s good to be alive.
