As I drove to my sister's new apartment, I passed the Dairy Queen. The letters on the sign spelled out "open Friday". It was this past Friday, and it was open. A sure sign that spring is not far behind.

I can remember many years ago, after I first moved into town and was attending college, going to that very Dairy Queen. I didn't have a car at the time. If a friend had a car and wanted to go someplace, I always happily accepted a ride. It didn't matter where, I would go.

She wanted to go to that very same Dairy Queen. This has to be about 19 years ago now. She wanted what was called a Mister Misty. I had no idea what that was, and I probably didn't have any money, but I didn't care. We rolled the windows down, she had a pick up truck. I never knew a girl who drove a pick up truck. She lived in a house that was near an apple orchard. She painted these huge landscape paintings. I'm sure the truck came in handy at the time, or it was one of her older siblings' vehicles that had been passed down. I can recall that her parents were closer in age to my grandparents, and she was the baby, still living at home and going to college. I'm sure coming to campus was an escape for her, just as riding away from it was an escape for me.

I was really disgusted when I found out what a Mr. Misty was. Imagine soft serve ice cream doused in a Slurpee. A principle in my life was then and still is that water and dairy do not mix. No ice cubes in milk. No milk and Pepsi a la Laverne DiFazzio. Just wrong. So very wrong.

But it didn't really matter. It didn't make me think Kris was any less fascinating. Or worldly, or interesting and funny and creative. I first heard my favorite music on the radio in her truck, the Indigo Girls. My world burst open in rides in that truck. Closer to Fine became the first song I heard where I felt someone had crawled inside my head and took notes on my thoughts.

I was away from my home, and away from my small world of experiences. The people I'd known and the subjects I'd studied now seemed so much smaller. I was outgrowing where I had come from. It was intense and uncomfortable at times, but for the majority of that time, it was full of friendship, acceptance, understanding, support, encouragement and discovery.

And those were among the things I learned outside of my classes in college. Riding around with strangers.