Out in the shiny night,
the rain was softly falling
The tracks that ran down the boulevard had
all been washed away

Out of the silver light, the past came softly calling
And I remember the times we spent
inside the Sad Cafe

What a difference a year makes.

365 days ago I was on Boracay Island with the woman I loved…

…to celebrate her 50th birthday.

I thought I had it all figured out. Loraine would spend the rest of my life at my side taking care of all my needs. That’s why I had her trained as a certified caregiver. And the money I spent on massage school was a great investment…I’ve never had a better one anywhere!

Of course, it wasn’t all about my selfish wants and desires. I gave Loraine a generous salary, made sure she and her daughter Hana had health insurance and paid Hana’s tuition at a private school. I basically just tried to make sure they were both well taken care of. Seemed like a win-win situation to me.

But Loraine had other dreams and ideas. Unbeknownst to me at the time she was engaged in an online relationship with a man from the UK. And three weeks later he came to the Philippines and won her heart. And so it goes.

I don’t want to leave the impression I’m not over it, well mostly over it. I think what I miss most is that I clicked in a way with Loraine that I’ve not been able to replicate with any of the women I’ve met subsequently. That’s especially true in regards to having someone I can engage in satisfying and stimulating conversation. We also had some shared interests, including the long walks on the beach thing (cliche though it may be). It occurs to me that perhaps I’ll need to find a girlfriend for talks, one for walks, and perhaps another for darts. HaHa! There you go, just got to think outside the box!

Anyway, Happy Birthday to Loraine. May your future life in jolly old England be all you ever dreamed and imagined it to be.

The clouds rolled in and hid that shore
Now that Glory Train, it don’t stop here no more
Now I look at the years gone by,
and wonder at the powers that be.
I don’t know why fortune smiles on some
and let’s the rest go free

Maybe the time has drawn the faces I recall
But things in this life change very slowly,
if they ever change at all
It’s no use in asking why,
Things just turned out that way
So meet me at midnight baby
inside the Sad Cafe.
Why don’t you meet me at midnight, babe,
inside the Sad Cafe.