Old friends
Friday, July 29th, 2005
You know how some days seem to have a theme? Well yesterday the theme was something like “blast from the past.” First, I was contacted by my friend Jerry who I hadn’t spoken with in like 8 years. We were stationed in Bremerton together and were part of a great group of friends that I have simply lost touch with. Most of us were either transferred or got out. Anyway, Jerry found my website and then tracked me down. He called late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning and we talked for a couple hours. It was really nice and I’m totally excited to be back in touch with him. Currently, he’s in Japan but he’s coming back stateside in January. Hopefully, he and my other friend Mark from the same period will be visiting Penny and I in early September.
Later that day, I got an email from another dear Navy friend from the Iceland days. Jan and I were very close, but both of us got caught up in our own worlds and lost touch. Anyway, she found me through Classmates.com and after a couple of quick emails I had her number. I called and we talked for nearly an hour. She’s gotten out of the Navy and is living in New Jersey now. That means I’ll get to see her next time I visit Carmen in Philly.
The whole thing has really put me in a great frame of mind. I love people and I love to be reminded of that. This is one of those moments when I can clearly feel the signifigance of maintaining deep relationships with other people. It’s very easy to get so caught up in projects and daily tasks that you forget to make time for relationships. Time and time again I’ve lost touch with some amazing friends. To be sure, this is hardly unique to me. What is unusual is the extrodinary number of wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure to be intimately connected with over the years. That I have managed to take them for granted or slowly ignore them is tragic. At least it’s good to know that if you really engage yourself with people, even years of neglect can be overcome.
You know how some days seem to have a theme? Well yesterday the theme was something like “blast from the past.” First, I was contacted by my friend Jerry who I hadn’t spoken with in like 8 years. We were stationed in Bremerton together and were part of a great group of friends that I have simply lost touch with. Most of us were either transferred or got out. Anyway, Jerry found my website and then tracked me down. He called late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning and we talked for a couple hours. It was really nice and I’m totally excited to be back in touch with him. Currently, he’s in Japan but he’s coming back stateside in January. Hopefully, he and my other friend Mark from the same period will be visiting Penny and I in early September.
Later that day, I got an email from another dear Navy friend from the Iceland days. Jan and I were very close, but both of us got caught up in our own worlds and lost touch. Anyway, she found me through Classmates.com and after a couple of quick emails I had her number. I called and we talked for nearly an hour. She’s gotten out of the Navy and is living in New Jersey now. That means I’ll get to see her next time I visit Carmen in Philly.
The whole thing has really put me in a great frame of mind. I love people and I love to be reminded of that. This is one of those moments when I can clearly feel the signifigance of maintaining deep relationships with other people. It’s very easy to get so caught up in projects and daily tasks that you forget to make time for relationships. Time and time again I’ve lost touch with some amazing friends. To be sure, this is hardly unique to me. What is unusual is the extrodinary number of wonderful people I’ve had the pleasure to be intimately connected with over the years. That I have managed to take them for granted or slowly ignore them is tragic. At least it’s good to know that if you really engage yourself with people, even years of neglect can be overcome.