End of an era... again

I’m having trouble wrapping my brain around this. Our best friend, and one of our oldest friends (since Dave was 13, and I was 18), is retiring from Boeing and moving to Ellensburg. Bernie has graced our table frequently for farmhouse dinners, followed by cards or just relaxing around the fire. We've mountain biked together, and we bought a cabin next to his, so we spend lots of vacation time together. He's always been at the other end of the phone or e-mail. Now he'll be 100 miles away.

The past three years, he's roomed with another good friend while he continues to work. Bernie is getting a lot of mileage out of telling everyone that Greg is replacing him with a dog.

He's doing his best to quell my fears that we'll lose touch. I know from firsthand experience how hard it can be. But he says if we all take care to continue gathering as each side drifts through the territory of the other, we'll be OK. And we'll always have the lake.