THE DISTANCE KEPT US CLOSE is the sequel to I’VE KISSED YOU FOR THE LAST TIME. The author continues to explore his post-divorce relationships with himself and others. He explores his relationship to his work, play, the world, and God. This is a book about guiding one’s life, not being led through it.

This book tells of a time for deciding what to hold on to, what to release; what to seek, what to share. It is about a time for creating distance in some areas, while drawing closer in others. There seem to be times that distance actually keeps the author close to someone he had loved. At other times, the distance does exactly what it’s meant to do. It avoids all near occasions to pain that seeing a former love can bring.

But, sometimes, distance distorts relationships, making some look better than they actually had been in real time. That’s when it’s time to close the distance again to clear up any lingering illusions and delusions one may hold about lost love.

Bruce was born in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. He has resided in the Indianapolis area since 1976. After a nine-year marriage and a six-year tour of Army duty both ended in 1979, the author attended Christian Theological Seminary/Butler University in Indianapolis to acquire a master’s degree in personality theory and religion. After working in two mental health hospitals, the author followed his love of the outdoors and exercise into a career as an Indianapolis city letter carrier in January 1985.

He continues to research, write, and speak about religion, mythology, and history. He and his wife, Linda, an elementary school instructional assistant to special needs children, enjoy gardening and creating a wildlife habitat at home.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas:

This season, these two months, November and December,
that first week in January,
Expectations, reunions, warm greetings, gift exchanges,
No comparison for those hugs and handshakes,
Laughter, conversations, reminiscing, updating,
Nuts, grapes, tangerines, fruitcakes,
Turkey and chocolate, Midnight Mass
for those who can still stay up,
Adult choir singing Adeste Fidelis,
O come all ye faithful,
O little town of Bethlehem,
O Holy Night,

Looking forward to going back.........
***

I need a friend to write to.
Will you, can you,
be that friend?

Or, is that initial
too little used connection
broken?

Shall we be the Vincent and Theo
of the 90’s and 2,000’s,
today’s Thomas Wolfe and Max Perkins?

Or, shall I just avoid the complications,
simply keep to myself and my notes?

I value my wife, her ear and insights.
But, I also need a distant voice
who knows a distant me
well enough, but removed,
of different stock and manner
to feed and nurture me with ideas.

I’m speaking of a love and friendship
that can only be shared
by those with remorse, rage, regrets,
remembrance, forgiveness, and acceptance,
a reconciliation with the past,
with self, and with each other.

Can we go beyond all that,
use it to guide and nourish
our spirits?

For, what we had at first
was spiritual in loving
one another’s countenance and souls.
The romance was there,
but not the consummation.

Perhaps that, call it tragic, if you must,
was for the best
because the distance kept us close.

We are all magicians who don’t know our powers.
We sit in crowds waiting for others to amaze us.
Untapped, we go untapped,
gushing inside, but capped.

Magic is nothing more
than that which is understood
only by those who perform.

If you wish to understand magic,
become the magician!
***

From the beginning of time,
many have heralded
the end of time.

Perhaps, they did so because living
was so unbearable for them.

So, they spent their whole lives
talking about the end of time,
wasting time....
***

Love isn’t for restless people playing on fast tracks.
Love is for those with time to relax.
So, settle down, have a cup of coffee with me,
maybe some apple pie.
Say a word about family, your hometown.
I have time. Tell me your story.
Tell me about love.