Boulder Bookstore / Old Flame / Enduring Flame


When my book tour started a year ago, one of my first signings was at the Boulder Bookstore. It’s a big joint, with a huge speaking area on the 2nd floor. I gave a radio interview when I hit town, later checked in at the store to meet the manager, stepped out for dinner, came back an hour later, and 70 people were waiting for my talk. Whoa.

I did my best to make them laugh, make them gasp, inspire them. Afterward I answered questions, then signed books. The line snaked all the way to the back, and I was thinking, Man, this is great. (Note: at some later signings, where the publicity didn’t mesh, a total of 3 people showed up. That’s sometimes how it is in the beginning. You still give the audience everything, you just don’t sign as many books.)

At the end of the line was a smiling blonde. She gave me her book, I asked her name, she told me in a voice that resonated back 30 years, and I looked up. It was a chick–I mean woman–I’d dated in high school. The last time I’d seen her The Who had just cut Quadrophenia, Nixon had resigned, and we were wearing bell bottoms. Yeah, my mouth dropped.

We went out for coffee. Laughed. Talked. Laughed. After three hours we still weren’t done. She had the same smile, walk, everything. For those of you who have been through this, you know what I mean. Sure she’d had her disappointments, just as I had, just as we all have, but all that mattered was the good memories, the love we’d been fortunate enough to know, the love we’d been even more fortunate to give.

At midnight we looked at each other, the unanswered question on both our minds. I walked her to her car, kissed her on the forehead, and told her good-night. That was enough for both of us. The past was the past. But to have an Old Flame show up like that… I think when we care for someone, it is often for life. No matter how the circumstances might change, the warmth remains the same.

I went to the hotel and called my Enduring Flame. It was wonderful to hear her voice, this woman who had shared in so much, taken so many risks with me, and of course put up with me and the way I live–or have to live. Then came the voices of my sons. Damn good day.

Santa Fe the next day.

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