A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by someone I knew at college more than twenty years ago. The Man knew him, too, as he was a fellow physicist. I regarded him as a friend then, although we weren't particularly close (but I do have a nice memory of visiting an all-night bagel bakery with him in North London one vacation). I'm not sure we'd been in touch since exchanging letters in 1987, when I was spending a year in Japan and he was in Israel (post-graduation) getting more deeply into his Jewish faith.
So, anyway. It turns out he lives just down the road. OK, not literally, but in American terms pretty much so. He and his family moved from London to the Boston area just a few months after we moved out here. They're about a three hour drive away, door to door. Today he and his wife and one of their three teenage daughters (how can someone my age have three teenage daughters? Oh, that's right, we are actually that old, aren't we...) were passing our way on the way back from checking out college options elsewhere in New York state.
It was so lovely to see him again (and to meet his family). We did the whole "you haven't changed a bit" routine - and really meant it. It was fun to catch up on [two decades-worth of] news, to compare moving-to-America stories, and to recall old friends. Life has turned out well for him, and that is...reassuring. I'm very happy that we're back in touch.
Yes its good to meet old friends and compare lives.how time flies!
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