The Flask

It's weird the things you pack when you're headed away.

I'm half way through packing up the kitchen. And I came across my flask.

Ironically, somebody had a flask at dinner last night. (I'll just let you use your imagination on that one). And I kind of wondered where my flask had migrated off to. I hadn't used it in a while. Oh wait, the last time I used it was backpacking... Whiskey (Jameson) on the Appalachian Trail with Johhny K. Ah yes...

So, there it was, hiding in the cupboard.

Before Johnny K, the last time I had used the flask had been in Ireland. It was in my suit pocket at a med school function. I am almost too embarrassed to admit that the flask was used to add whiskey to coke. Those were the poor years. Mixed drinks were expensive.

Why did it even make it to Ireland? Because it was a gift, from a very dear friend, whose wedding I participated in 2 days before moving to Ireland. I basically flew back from that wedding, spend a day in Denver and then flew to Ireland. The flask was just part of the luggage at that point.

Over the past few days of packing, I've been setting things that need to go to SA in a box. Books. Certain photos (most photos are now on the computer). My extra phone. Foreign money. My passport.

And tonight, I put that flask in the box. It seems silly to take the flask to SA...

I can only hope that at some point in the coming year, I find myself in the Drakensberg Mountains, sharing my flask with new friends, while remembering the great friends who have supported me for many years.