on new friends

i have a new friend at work. his name is richard. at my job i have the opportunity to talk with lots of people. but richard is different. he is in his 80's. he always wears a hat. the kind of hats that men wore everyday back in the 40's and 50's. he comes in everyday to work on his special project - the Joseph Smith papers. but he always stops to talk to me first. he calls me tamara.

and i kind of love it.

for some reason i feel so attached to richard. maybe it is the fact that he works so hard. last week i came to pick up a friend from the library at 11:30 pm. richard was just walking out of the building. he had been there all day working. he told me that he told his wife that morning that he was going to be at work all day so she should go do something fun for herself. maybe it is the fact that he always stops to talk to me, even though he is holding a briefcase and his arms start to shake. maybe it is the fact that he asks me questions about my life and really cares about the answers. maybe it is the fact that after he walks past me, on his way to his office, he always looks back and smiles. or maybe it is the fact that he calls me by my full name and tells me every time that it is beautiful.

all of my grandparents have been passed away for a long, long time now. i miss them. i try to remember them and things that they taught. often times i wish that i had asked them more questions and asked more advice from them. but then i remember that i was still very young. every time i talk to richard i am reminded of them. i'm grateful that richard wants to be my friend and that he takes the time to talk to me. for some reason my day gets so much better when i catch a glimpse of his hat and briefcase walking through the glass doors...