I've Got Friends In All Places

When I first moved to Augusta, I knew that being far away from the friends I know and love would suck. I mean, many of the bets moments in my life have come with friends and not family. So being away from my friends does suck. Now granted, my family will always be missed first. But I tell ya, friends come a close second.

And I know I have good friends when I am in bed at 4am and getting a drunk dial from them at Union Street Diner after the first Gridiron Glory of 2008. Or a call at 11:30pm when they all gather at The Pub, just to remind me of the many good times had there on Monday nights. Or the numerous friends who sent a text my way to infrom my ugly mug is still promoting my alma mater on television. Or the friends who continue to text me when they pass my billboard. Hell, even the friends that read this blog.

So what I can do with this blog is see where people are reading my blog from. Well, so far, I'm up to 28 states (including Montana) and 2 countries. And one day when I was bored, my mind started wandering about what if I could take a month off work, paid leave let's say, and just drive across the nation. How cool would that be. And that got me to thinking about the friends I have all over this great nation of ours. It's not necessarily the amount I have. I know there are many more people in this world with more. But it's where they are.

For example....
- If I wanna hang out with the stars in Los Angeles, just give Theetge, Joe, Goldfarb or Basford a call.
- Feel like gambling in Sin City? Holla at Alex and Killer in Las Vegas.
- If I wanna touch a cactus and see some amazing looking ladies in Tempe, AZ, talk to Jacinta and Wyatt who are livin it up at Arizona State (Beadle graduated early for no reason).
- If I ever learn how to ski, I could hit the slopes in Denver with Whitney.
- If I wanna visit the land where Fran Solich used to roam, head to Lincoln, NE and visit Gant and Fulton, who prolly has a dead baby joke for me.
- If I wanna wear a cowboy hat and act like Cowboy Troy for a day, I'll go to Stillwater, OK and hang out with Cody and Devin.
- If I go to College Station, TX, I can lose my mind hanging out Keefe and Jerrod.
- If I head south from there, I can hit up Dallas and say what's up to the always laid-back J-King.
- Go south on I-35 and I could be wild in Waco, TX, where I'm pretty sure TI will show me a good time.
- Head a bit southwest and I'll be in Houston, where Mark is prolly doing something he shouldn't be doing and Morris is doing...actually, I don't know.
- And if I wanna be on the border of Mexico, I think JA would be a good host, as long as a hurricane isn't coming.
- If I wanna go to Bill Clinton's birth state of Arkansas, I can also visit Sloan and RJ and tlak about the good ol' extramural times.
- If Missouri is on my mind, I could visit Shane at SEMO and get in some trouble or find me in St. Louie with Rocco
- If I wanna freeze my butt off in Minnesota, I'll just talk to quirky Siebrecht and kooky Zmyslinski
- And since I'm cold already, might as well head to Madison, WI and hook up with Lumpkin and KHunt and have some beverages.
- If I wanna visit the beer capital of the world, Milwaukee, WI is where I'll go and meet up with Marquette peeps that my sister introduced me too but I don't remember the names of.
- Just an hour away, I can go to the windy city of Chicago and hang with Harbert, gossip with Danie, live it up with Liza, or see the sights with my second sister Lyndsey
- Down in Hattiesburg, MS, I could reunite myself with "pint-sized Matt"
- If I wanna learn that pop = Coke, I could chill in Alabama with Jerome, Taylor and whoever else is still in that state that I know.
- If I wanna figure out the words to Rocky Top, Knoxville is home to the famous Mike McCarthy and Meredith McMahon (talk about alliteration).
- To see where Vince Young is hiding, I could travel to Nashville and search the scene with Rapking and Braverman.
- Up in Hoosier country, I could meet up with Stacey and A-Ho in Indiana.
- If I wanna spit on the ground of Michigan, I can find Saunders and yell at him some more afterwards
- If I wanna spit on the ground of Florida, I can see Ashley in Tampa, Dan in Jacksonville, Jenn in Melbourne, and Rosie in Miami
- If I leave Augusta and go around Georgia, I can find Segi and company in Statesboro, Wyatt and BFunk (soon) in Atlanta, Todd in Macon, Storch in Athens and Huggy Bear and Noble holdin it down in Valdosta.
- If it's the beach I want, I'll talk to Shari in Myrtle Beach, SC or Mallory in Virginia Beach, VA.
- In Columbia, SC, I can talk to Kyle and learn more about life
- If it's North Carolina I wanna head to, I got Criswell in Greensboro and of course, Michelle and Granger chillaxin in Charlotte.
- If I wanna get the New England feel, I'll go to Boston and chill with some grad student guys, Brett and Will
- If I wanna see the bright lights of the Big Apple, I can visit Jen and Jones in New York City.
- If I wanna make fun of the Mountaineers, I'll go to Morgantown and meet up with Lindamood.
- If I wanna check out the Worldwide Leader in Sports in Bristol, CT, I'll call up Blair, Gandee Man, and Kimmy K.

- And of course, in the great state of Ohio, I've got friends all over. Let's not even try to go city by city. My head will blow up.

In other words, I'm a really lucky guy. Because of the profession I am in, I could be in a different locale every 2-3 years. But the reassuring thing is that no matter where I go, I'll have a friend nearby. Thanks peeps. And of course, Hakuna Matata.

(Oh, and by the way, this post took forever. I've been mapping out where my friends are for the past three days and I know I probably either don't know where some are or simply forgot someone because I am forgetful. Heck, I forgot my microphone at a high school football practice yesterday. So no offense intended at all. Just had to throw that out there.)