Parallel Roads: Friendships That Span Time

        Over the past few years I've written about my old friend Dan Holom on my blogs.    On Wrote By Rote I did an A to Z post about Friendship in 2013.  A few years earlier on Tossing It Out I related a story about a possible telepathic connection between my friend and I.  You can follow the links to read those stories.   Today I have a follow-up story regarding my long-time friend.

          Dan Holom and I became friends way back in junior high school nearly fifty years ago.  We were best friends during that time.  When high school came I moved away from Merrillville, Indiana where my family had been living during those junior high school years and relocated hundreds of miles away in East Tennessee.  I occasionally heard from Dan and saw him a couple of times over the years, but then for a few decades we lost contact.   I never forgot about him and though I had an idea where he was living, I never managed to reconnect with him until 2005.

           He came to visit me in California in 2006.  Actually he was meeting with the illustrator for a children's book he had written so he decided to pay me a brief visit as well during his short week-end stay.  Since then we have kept regular contact.

            A signed copy of his book Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel arrived in my mail sometime in 2008.  I was thrilled to see that his dream had come to fruition.  Over the years since then Dan has been working hard at promoting his self-published book.  Anyone who has been involved with self-publishing knows the hard work involved in promoting a book.   Dan has been steadily pushing his book through speaking engagements and whatever else he could do to promote sales.

            Now he has released his book on Kindle which makes distribution via Amazon far easier than trying to market to the book stores on his own.   The book is also cheaper for readers.  Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel is based on the Bible story of Daniel in the lion's den.   With whimsical illustrations by acclaimed Disney animation artist Mark Henn, children and adults will enjoy this entertaining book that is very values oriented.  

          If you don't mind spending $1.99 or if you have Kindle Unlimited where you can read the book for free, I would encourage you to help Dan with his book sales.   I think any children in your life would enjoy this book--it would make a great gift.   And once you've read the book please remember to leave a review on Amazon and wherever else you typically leave book reviews (don't forget your blog as well!). 

            Dan Holom and Mark Henn have big plans ahead.   Their book is to be turned into a series of Sleepy Sheepy adventures.   The success of this first book will make the publication of the next book an easier process.   Wouldn't you like to be a part of this fun series for children?   I hope so!

            You can find my reviews of Sleepy Sheepy and Daniel at Amazon, Goodreads, and my Sunday blog A Few Words.

           Have you had friends that you've reconnected with after many years?    Have you purchased any children's books on Kindle?   Can you help my friend Dan Holom launch his book series (sharing this post would also help)?

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Friendship

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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