Cross one thing off the To-Do list.

I was home last night preparing to spend the evening alone in deep thought in front of the television when the phone rang. It was my old friend from college days, Jim B. Just the other day, I wrote here how I missed all my old friends from college and that I promised myself I would start calling some of them to catch up.

Anyway, he's loving the life he leads in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with his wife and 10-month-old son. Surprisingly he's lost the bit of Indiana twang formerly employed by his voice but he hasn't picked up on the throaty Canadian-like U.P. accent. Lots of snow in them there parts -- far more than I'd ever care to deal with outside of the occasional snowstorm.

Wednesday night, I'd go over to Jim's to overcook hamburgers and split a small case of beer. We'd hang out on the porch of his rented college slumicile and blast music out of very expensive speakers that he'd purchased with cash saved up for a very special day. We got some good mileage out of them. When I implied slum, I didn't mean that Jim and his roommate Nick didn't keep a good house, because they did a pretty good job. Most of the homes in this college town rented out to students were built in the 1800s and hadn't seen much by way of updates except for an occasional new coat of paint. My senior year apartment fell into this category.

Anyway, it was good to catch up. We're making plans now to visit Jim et al in the Upper Peninsula this spring.