I had a high school friend, he liked to hunt muskrats and rabbits
And he liked to draw and he liked to listen to Ian Gillan with Black Sabbath
But one night outside a Canton, Ohio pool hall
Something transpired, he stuck a man with a screwdriver, stole his car and he hauled
He did three years in Tico Reformatory and the rumors of what went on in there were most chilling horror stories
Not long after he was set free, he left his parent's house at 1am and wrapped his car around a tree
And I was in Pacific Grove, California when I got the call
I talked with his mother and his father and his brothers, I talked to them all
About his love for heavy metal, his love for hunting and how good he could draw
And I laid down next to my girlfriend Deena, like a child I bawled
One thanksgiving when I was pretty young
Me and my dad got into it over something and we fought and he won
And I went running barefoot off into the snow
And I sought refuge at a neighbor's house and later that night I came home
And in the midst of all the agonies and hardness I felt, somehow the wonder of life always prevails
And in the midst of all the awkwardness, all my growing pains, somehow the wonder of life always remains
Every day, I get out and I walk
Every day, I get on the phone with someone and I talk
It's good to have friends who love you, care and understand
Who have your back and don't judge you, don't criticize you, or make demands
Every day, for miles I walk along the Monterey Pines, the Marina to Aquatic Park
And I look at the Marin Headlands, Tiburon, Sausalito, Angel Island, from the end of fishing pier
Oh my, I couldn't ask for more, my eyes couldn't ever want for more
And oh my, I watch the seagulls fly for half my life I've watched the ferry boats and the barges go by
It's February, it'll be the 10th year anniversary of when I lost a friend to cancer and there's times when I still can't believe it
But I'm so grateful for all the time we got to spend in Pescadero, Point Reyes, Mendocino, San Rafael and Fairfax
Though I'm reminded of her passing especially when it rains, somehow the wonder of life always remains
And every Christmas I get pictures of her growing daughter, and her face looks more and more like her mother
Spent this thanksgiving in seat 21E of an SAS airplane flying over the Baltic and the north sea
On my way home from Stockholm and Malmo and Gottenburg and Copenhagen all I could think of in my seat was getting back home to my girlfriend
She'd be away until Saturday or Sunday down in Orange County with her family for the holiday
But it's alright, I can't cry, can't complain, because I'm just about to land in a 737 airplane
Looking down at the city of Martinez and the Carkinas Strait and that San Francisco pacifiC ocean and north bay
And at the golden gate and Oakland bay bridges and the many boats that sail, and the wonder of life always prevails
