An old friend came to visit this summer. She is not old but the friendship has aged, is deep and has stood the test of time. We met in college. I was a poly-sci major and this was my first Philosophy course, The Phenomenology of Dreams and the Imagination She was the Professor. After learning from her in this class I changed my major to Philosophy, she became my advisor and we became friends.
This summer her visit took us back to a beach we have often walked, she laid out her blanket and I was mesmerized. The blanket was so worn, so tattered. She told me she has had this blanket since her college days many years ago and that it carries memories. As I looked at this treasure of Cecile's my mind flashed to the story of the Velveteen Rabbit and the image of the loved up Rabbit. It takes many years to become real and a lot of loving. And you cannot tell just by looking if the thing is valuable or if it has become "real" because "that which is essential is invisible to the eye." I saw this whole principle in the tattered beach blanket, I knew this about Cecile already, that she a real friend who sees me and knows me as I am. So I took a picture of the blanket which, I now know, is the most lovely photo of Cecile I could ever have.
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