Old Friends

It would seem natural to talk of old friends on Valentines Day.

It never ceases to amaze me the surprises life has in store for us; around the next corner, the next day or the next minute.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from someone I met in 1970.

Although an image would not emerge immediately, the unravelling of the story came to light after painstaking meanderings through the archives of the memory banks yielding flashes of images, snippets of conversations and of course emotions at the time.

As I discovered, events like grave illness in the family play a major role in literally wiping out all evidence of attendant episodes in one's life. Perhaps wiping out may be too strong, but certainly buried deep would be appropriate. Priding myself as one who remembers details more than some, I was annoyed to be confronted with this obvious lapse.

Short of self hypnosis, this became an exercise in self-analysis evoking emotions from sadness, disbelief, anger, grief and finally acceptance. The journey was exciting and left me with a sense of wanting to know more. The realisation of ones individual vulnerability is humbling.

Perception is in the eyes of the beholder. We each lay significance on things that impact us personally affecting the flavour of memories. This is a good thing because when the two sides do eventually come together, the canvas becomes complete. So here's to old and new friends where ever you may be. Savour life.