Estoy Nueces

I had a goodbye lunch with a dear friend today. Steve is moving back to Dallas and I hate that. I'm not as upset about it as when he moved from Dallas to Austin and left me before. I know we'll keep in touch.

I met Steve when he came to work at the radio station I was at in Dallas in 1992. He had worked at some of the biggest stations in town so I was familiar with his name. I really thought he would be stuck up and egotistical. He was one of the nicest people I ever met and completely open and genuine. We were both engaged and about to get married (TO OTHER PEOPLE!) so we had that in common, too.

We worked together more than a year at that station. Steve was also working at Dallas' biggest broadcasting company. Hmmm, let's use the psuedonym "XYZ." I had applied there too, seeking a full-time position as a disc jockey. One Sunday morning Steve called to let me know there was an immediate opening and he advised me to be on the phone with the boss the next morning to make sure I was in position for that job. It all worked out and I had a full-time job within a couple of weeks.

We worked together there almost five years and I got quite comfortable seeing him everyday. He and his lovely wife had the sweetest little girl in the world. All was well until his wife took a great job in Austin. I really hated to have him move away.

As it turned out, we continued to e-mail and call and visit one another when we were in the other's city. A year flew by before I knew it.

This past spring I had decided that I needed to come to Austin. I was ready to apply for a job at the same place Steve worked and was just about to discuss it with him. Then he called me and said he had recommended me for a job at his radio company even though he didn't know if I would want to move or not. Within a month, I had started here in Austin and we were working together again.

Oddly enough, we hardly ever see each other in Austin. We e-mail less often, too, since we both expect that we will see each other occasionally. Now his wife has taken a good job back in Dallas and they are moving back to the Metroplex. It doesn't bother me as much as the move to Austin did. We stayed in touch and stayed friends and I believe he admires my radio work and trusts me, so I know we will still be in touch in the future.

It's hard to believe we've known each other seven years now. It's nice to know you can make a good friend like Steve even after you've "grown up" and have spouses and families.