A to Z Theme 2016

For my 2016 A to Z theme I used a meme that I ran across on the blog of Bridget Straub who first saw it on the blog of Paula Acton. This meme is a natural for me to use on my memoir blog. It's an A to Z concept and it's about me. No research and nothing complicated. I'm given twenty six questions or topics to discuss that are about me.

In April I kept my posts short and uncomplicated. In the midst of it all you might learn a few things about me that you didn't previously know.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Friendship

Horses Under the Aurora Borealis
Image by Greg Annandale via Flickr

          When Dan Holom called me in September of 2005 I was more amazed than I was surprised.  The incident made me wonder about telepathic communications and feelings sensed from afar.

           Dan and I had been best of friends in junior high school in the mid 1960's. I was living in northern Indiana at the time.  In the two years or so that we spent hanging out with each other during that time we became very close.  He was a grade ahead of me so I didn't see him much at school, but since he lived just up the street from me we spent a great deal of time together otherwise.  He took up hobbies that interested me and I in turn followed his interests.

          After my family moved to Tennessee in the summer of 1966, Dan and I kept in touch for a few more years.  Eventually he went off to college in Illinois and I suppose we both became so wrapped up in our own pursuits that we essentially lost contact for the most part.  However, I did manage to keep track of where he was.

          Years later, in 1978 I believe it was, after I had gotten married and had a son whom we had named Dan, I stopped in at Dan Holom's parents house to show off my boy.  It just so happened that my friend was  there visiting his parents.  Our visit was very brief and soon we went on our way.

          Later I heard that my friend had moved to Arkansas and he also had gotten married.  I guess he must have dropped me a Christmas card now and then because for many years I kept track of where he was living.  Then after a while I lost track.

          Fast forward twenty years:  After I'd started getting more into the internet I started looking up more things about my past.  In September of 2005 I started thinking of Dan Holom and trying to find what had happened to him.  It didn't take long for me to find his address and phone number.  I kept that information beside my computer with the intent of calling Dan.  Then within a few days Dan called me at work.  He'd gotten that number from my mother whom he had called first to find me.

         What was it that caused us to be thinking of each other at the same time?  Coincidence?  Or some other strong force of thought?

         The following year Dan came to California for a week-end business trip and stayed with my wife and I.   Though I hadn't seen Dan in over twenty-five years, our bond seemed as strong as it had ever been.  We believed similar things and still had a great deal in common.  He was in the process of writing a children's book and was in Los Angeles to meet with a Disney artist who was doing the artwork.

        That week-end visit was short, a long-ago teen-age friendship and many years in between all wrapped up in a few hours of reminiscing.   The friendship was still there.  We still talk on the phone now and then.  I look forward to the next visit in person that we'll have.   Dan is a good friend.

        Have you ever reconnected with an old friend after many years?  How was your experience?    Do you believe that mind power is strong enough to connect people through vast distance?

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10 comments:

  1. Friendship is a must in life,
    Without friendship one's mind withers,I was lucky to have had plenty of friends throughout my life, some I some often others not,
    I like to think I made a new friend the day we met.
    Yvonne.

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  2. Proper friendships don't count the time. It's great that you've been able to keep in contact all this time.

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  3. Wonderful story. Yes, Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with people I went to elementary and high school with. It's amazing how I laugh with them more than anyone else - there is something about a shared childhood experience that goes very deep and creates a tremendous bond.

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  4. Great story. Facebook has been a great helper in connecting with long lost friends. I have one I hope to visit someday, but she lives half a country away, so it might be a while.

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  5. Hi Lee .. it's always great to catch up isn't .. remember old times - yet catch the magic for the future ..

    Cheers Hilary

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  6. Thanks to Facebook I reconnected with a lot of people. With some we picked up where we left off and we interact there daily. Others not so much, after the initial 'how have you been all these years?'

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  7. I'm not old enough to have been out of touch with friends for so long, but I do try to stay in touch with several childhood friends.

    Jaimie
    Living in the Light
    A to Z Ambassador

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  8. That's so cool that you caught up after all that time! I think this is the mark of a true friendship for sure.

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  9. Real friends are hard to find but best to love. I'm very lucky I have a few really good friends that I value.

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  10. I just recently reconnected with a friend over twitter. I hadn't seen him in years, and suddenly I saw his name pop up on my timeline. Funny how we were both wondering what the other was up to at the same time, before we finally reconnected.

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