I met up with..................

An old boating friend of mine yesterday lunchtime, who split from his partner and the boating life two ish years ago. He`s a funny little character (in the same veign that I`m a funny, big, fat, bald, old character!) we had lunch at the "Office" ( A1 cafe) meeting up at 12-00 he has now retired and lives back at home whith his wife (can you believe it?) and still won`t admit to me, his only friend, that at the wekends when he supposedly went to see/stay with his daughter he was actually going home to stay with his wife! he did this for ten years without his partner knowing, Little sh1t, oh ! well it take all sorts I suppose. His ex partner and her new partner are still our good friends too, so you can imagine the position that we found ourselves in when the split "sounded off" but in spite of all the heartbreak she is much better off on her boat with her new man and he is better off in his marital home without the best of both worlds (which is what he wanted "to have his cake and eat it" which I don`t condone). he has inherited money now from the death of his Mother and so is set for life (or is it death?) we jawed about old times and "this time" and "that time" and I felt quite sad for him, not in a patronising way but the sort of a sadness that comes from caring for a person as a friend but feeling that you could never really help them. He is still looking for something out of life that I don`t think he will ever find (don`t we all? lifes a compromise after all or is that only if you accept that it is?) he is a kind and very generous man with his time, I just wish he was truly happy at home. I think he sees it as a temporary thing until he sorts his life out and I think that its a pity he doesn`t expend some of his generosity to his wife, and her feelings. Who am I to talk like this "I aint no saint"! I just felt sad for him and her and hoped that things would be alright in the long run! We parted at about 14-30 and went our seperate ways. I enjoyed our meet but it made me sad too and in fact affected me quite a bit. ( silly old S*d! )