THE WORLD'S LARGEST PISTACHIO

"Good god man, it's huge!"

A cold December snow fell in Brooklyn, a far cry from the hot May desert sands of New Mexico where we had all first met. Yet here we all were, playing Monopoly Deal on the floor of our AirBnB, yelling and laughing at each other over the rules as if we had just seen each other last month and not almost three years ago. No longer the utter strangers we once were. I tell the story of meeting these people a lot these days, probably too often. It was a moment touched by magic and when that happens I find I don’t want to shut up about it. To tell our story properly I have to go back. Back to a road trip across America in spring of 2022.

 Andrew Michael Furman and I were just shy of two weeks into our road trip around America. We had just left the Texas plains, our friendship ironclad after 10 days of being with each other 24/7. New Mexico was calling our names and my blue Subaru Forester was still chugging along quite well (this would not last but that's a story for another day). As we left west Texas and started venturing into New Mexico we had a destination in site, White Sands National Park. It felt like our entry into “THE” west and an introduction to the big boys of the National Park game. It had been billed as an alien planet with beautiful sand dunes and we were excited. After passing through an immigration checkpoint (which felt dystopian inside my own country) and military testing fields we rolled into the desert. Andrew had to shit so I went into the gift shop, it’s weird how our memory sharpens around key moments in our lives. I remember looking at postcards to maybe send home and keychains with names on them, there is never one with Ryder I thought to myself. I remember the pueblo-esq style of the ranger station/gift shop and how there was wind that day and it had blown sand across the parking lot. I was driving, so once we got back to the car I got in the front seat and Andrew went around back and as he did I overheard a question that would change our day and maybe our life…. But I am known for hyperbole. A girl's voice was asking “Are you guys going to any Mt. Joy shows this year?”. The back of my car has a big This Car Climbed Mt. Joy sticker on the back,  an indie rock/folk band that Andrew and I both love. Andrew began to reply that yes in fact both of us were, he was going to one in Philly and Ryder was going to one in Boston later that year. Interested, I got out of the car and circled around back where I came face to face with two people. Lyndsey and Jake. Lydnsey had on blue overalls, and a cool five panel hat, looking like the granola gal of my dreams and Jake had on a Hawaiian shirt and a hat making him look like Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Instantly I liked these two humans and the energy that they radiated. We got talking about hometowns, both are from upstate New York but Lyndsey lives in Santa Fe now and Jake was in the Air Force and actually lived only 30 minutes from Andrew in Delaware. We chatted more and then brought up the fact that we heard that you were supposed to go sledding in the dunes. I had the cover to a plastic crate where we kept some of our 20 million cans of canned pears and showed it to them, “You think this will work?”. They examined it as they told us how they had actual sleds that we were more than welcome to borrow from them. We were giddy over our luck but then they said, actually screw that, don't just borrow them let's all go together! It sounded like a new adventure with some new pals so we jumped into our respective cars and drove into the park. Due to the wind and the nature of the dunes, at times the road was completely covered in sand. Lyndsey was driving and Jake was taking photos hanging out of the passenger side window, Andrew and I were honking and yelling out the window to our new best friends. We parked in a sandbox and entered the park, the sand shifted under our bare feet, the mountains far in the distance giving us the feeling of visitors to mars. The occasional hiking marker reminded us that we were not on the edge of civilization but in fact right at home in the USA. We passed no one as we carved our own path into the shifting dunes. Jake snapped photos of us as we laughed and told stories, getting to know each other, what makes us tick, what we loved, what we did not. Jake had flown out to New Mexico to crew Lyndz through an ultra marathon she had been training for but due to wildfires it had been called off and they had gone on a last second road trip around the southwest. Which had brought them right into our world. Fate seemingly poking its head into our lives. 

As the day wore on we didn't want it to stop. Andrew brought out the chest board he had taken on the road trip and Jake and him played a game in the dunes while Lyndsey and I watched from camp chairs, reveling in the randomness and sweetness of the moment.

As we packed our things and ate our snacks, Andrew with his beef jerky and I with my canned pears, my granola queen informed us of the world's largest Pischao that was right down the road. Obviously we had to make a pilgrimage to it and so once again we packed into our cars and headed to mecca where pistachio ice cream awaited us. It should be noted that Andrew Michael Furman does not enjoy pistachio ice cream but he was willing to embark on this journey despite that. You see the pistachio before you get to it. It's one of those roadside attractions that we in America do so well. We took photos of the pistacho and licked our ice cream, savoring every bite. We each felt the magic being dusted over us. We each felt in the air that none of us were willing to end this friendship this early. When people get a taste of real magic they hold on for dear life, how long can we make this last? How can I preserve this thing that I can't put into words? We talked and talked and soon the idea of driving to Alberque, New Mexico, over three hours away, appeared. We would all get a hotel room together and venture into the city. Andrew being the best of pals and trying to be a wingman and really get to know our new friends said we should split up, I would go with Lyndsey and Jake would go with Andrew and then maybe we would switch later on in the drive. This way we would actually get to know them. I was excited to get to know this epic human and learn about what she liked and didn't like. Lyndsey played the talking heads album Little Creatures and told me about growing up in Upstate New York, going to school up there, the outdoor adventures she had gone on, her family, her siblings, how she had ended up in Santa Fe, what life was like in the desert. How she and Jake had dated briefly in college but now they were just friends. Eventually we came to a gas station and swapped and now Jake drove. He told me about flying for the airforce, delivering tanks and people and supplies all over the world. How he used to be a fashion photographer that had been friends with some pretty big names in the New York photo scene. His passion was evident and inspiring. He told me how he had to stop flying because he had some health issues and was now stateside for the foreseeable future. As we drove he got a bloody nose and told me how the Airforce guys would set Tinder to whatever city they were flying into and have dates and plans and adventures waiting when they arrived.

How it was fun and a brotherhood but also not a very stable lifestyle. His service was coming to an end soon and he was trying to figure out his next play. We laughed and gave each other advice. I didn't (and still don’t) know shit about anything but that has never stopped me from giving an opinion (I know, not great, but I am working on this!) We pulled into Alberque at golden hour in the desert and parked and got ready for our night out. We didn't know what it would look like but we readied ourselves all the same. Who knew that we would end up at a cartel bar, pass a hardcore metal show, and genuinely feel more unsafe than I’ve ever felt. The cartel bar (not advertised as such but…) was the only restaurant open past 9pm on a Sunday and we were hungry so once we rode up the elevator of the sketchy industrial building (the stairs were closed for some reason) we came into the restaurant and were met with multiple men in kevlar vests and a plethora of handguns who checked our ID’s. We ordered beers and burgers and played pool, receiving stares from everyone there as we were the only “gringos” in the joint. We ate as quick as we could and took off, desperate to find somewhere else. We finally stumbled upon another bar, this one on ground level, looking like a wild west salon was turned into a dance club. Lyndsey bought us Coronas and we sat out on the patio and laughed and talked about life.

I busted a move on the empty dance floor for a bit and we took pictures in the photo booth. Sensing we weren't gonna find the bar of our dreams we made the long walk back to our hotel, passing through what felt like the world's longest car tunnel, our senses on high alert as we sang and danced our way home, slight fear making the moment all the more real and tangible. As we drifted off to sleep we sent each other memes, funny pics of ourselves from years past, once again trying to hold on to the moment before it was over. Lyndsey and Jake had to wake up early to get him to the airport so we gave hugs and promises to keep in touch and plan our next adventure. Things you say to people you care about, even though you feel like it might not truly come to pass. 

We created a group chat that night, we called it feral dudes in albq due to some joke Andrew kept making. I don't have an active group chat with my buddies from college, for each of us, communication isn't always our strong suit so I figured like any group chat I was in it would wither and die and maybe, maybeee be used once a year. But as we stood in the vegan pizza shop (side note: vegan pizza is nottt good drunk pizza) in Brooklyn this december, two and a half years since we had all been together, I had to laugh and think, damn, I was wrong. The group chat worked out. Credit where credit is due, Andrew and Jake connected while back in Delaware and really kept it alive when Lyndsey or I would go radio silent. But it hummed along. And eventually the years passed and this Christmas came to be. Brooklyn seemed as central a location as we could get for the holidays, I was coming from Vancouver Island, Lydnsey from New Mexico, Jake and his girlfriend Chloe from Pennsylvania and Andrew and his girlfriend Sarah from Delaware. We all split an AirBnb and went out, we forgot that Brooklyn was hipster paradise and ended up at two vegan restaurants and a jazz bar where we got some interesting looks from patrons and staff. And we still had fun. We were tired from travel and life and the holidays and everything that comes with it. We left the bar and grabbed bottles of wine and sat in the Brooklyn townhouse that was ours for the night and retold our story to each other, filling in the updates we had missed. The couples had the beds and Lyndsey and I got the couches, chatting about dreams and work and what it all means. We all woke up hungover to snowfall, a slow morning of laughing and recapping. The call of bagels was too powerful so we marched through Arctic winds in pursuit of the perfect carb.

The cozy Brooklyn bagel spot was everything you would hope it would be, cozy to the point of stifling with bagels packed with too much cream cheese(yes there is such a thing in my book). I sat next to Lyndsey and laughed and tried (as always) to make her laugh. My pals took photos and ate our bagels, each moment getting closer to us saying goodbye. We walked back to the apartment, trying not to slip on the icy streets, thinking about our next plans that day. We packed up the apartment and walked Jake and Chloe to their car and Lyndsey too, they were dropping her off. Furman and Sarah were going to walk me to the bus station. We said our goodbyes with promises to meet on the Fourth of July. We hugged and laughed and invites to visit before then were said ad-nauseam. And then we walked away. 

Feelings swirled around me. When we all first met it was like… friendship lust. It was hot, steamy, platonic lust. Who were these interesting funny cool people that seemed to like us like we liked them??? It was intoxicating and fun and the energy swirled around us all. I knew before we all got together again that the years and distance and lack of spontaneity would change the evening. We couldn't replicate what we had, this was going to be different, the vibrancy had changed. But when magic touches a moment the residuals stick around, they glow like bioluminescent shining in choppy water. This time around we had grown up a little, it felt like seeing your crush from childhood for the first time in a while. It was a little awkward at first. Partners have been added and dogs gained, jobs and lives have changed and coasts have been swapped yet in that tiny packed bar with a Billie Holiday song in the background, everything felt familiar. These were people I love, through time and space. I had a beautiful night with my friends, nothing more and nothing less. I can’t lie though, I wanted another legend to tell, more yarn to spin, and I didn't quite get that. That doesn't stop me from appreciating the beauty of the moment AND that doesn't stop me from wanting more. These rare pockets of serendipity are what keeps life exciting for me, it makes every moment feel like that even when I’m down, the universe might strike a bolt of beautiful chaos into it. And what I have learned is that when you spend your life looking up in the sky for a bolt of lighting you see a whole lotta stars and damn, if they aren't beautiful too.