Man! Ya just never know who's going to show up when you least expect them. It's a mind-blower, to be sure. Just when you think you've let 'em go, BAM! They show up, outta the blue. It's crazy I tell ya. CRAZY!
Facebook has certainly become all the rage, it seems. And while I do enjoy an occasional glimpse, I'm not one of those who must check in every day. Mostly I go there when I get an email telling me someone's done something on my Wall. It's fun, but certainly not an obsession. Well, yesterday while I was going to read an email sent, I found one of those 'friend suggestion' thingies, from my hometown sleuth who happens to be the gal who has made it her mission to find everyone from 'back in the day' and hook us all up. Fact is, she was always that gal, always ready to organize a bash or help people 'make up' when spats arose. A sweet, kind and very caring lady, who remains this way, even more so. Anyway, I see this 'suggestion' and look to find the younger sister of one of my very favorite people from way back then. He was my "brother"; the one I met in 5th grade and stayed close to all the way through High School. He looked out for me, and I him. Truth be told, I had a huge crush on him, but ours was a friendship that didn't include 'romantic' involvement. Not that I wouldn't have loved it, but that's the way it was and I always held him close in my heart. So, there's his "little sis" on FB, all grown up and gorgeous. I sat there in disbelief. I'd resigned myself to never finding her brother or hearing from him again, so to see her pretty face smiling back at me...well, "excited" isn't even close. I 'bout lost my mind!
I sent her a message right away, saying how good it was to 'see' her and sending hugs. I didn't mention her brother, as I knew it wasn't necessary. If she knew where he was, I had no doubt she'd tell him about it. This happened around 4PM. An hour and a half later, while I was on the phone with someone else, I heard the annoying click telling me someone else was trying to phone in. I looked at the CallerID, saw the area code and thought, "NOOOOOOO way! Could it be him????". I didn't take the call, as the woman I was on the line with is a dear elderly friend in her 80s, who I have far too much respect for to ask to "hold". I let her finish her story, and a short while later we hung up the phone. By that time, the other line had clicked twice more, with me ignoring it both times, and then there was that signal that told me I had a new message waiting. As fast as I could retrieve it, I waited to hear who it was. Yep. It was him. I'd know that voice anywhere. HOLY MOLY!!! I could hardly believe it was happening.
I dialed the number and when a woman picked up, I announced myself and asked for him. She hollered out that he had a call, and then I heard the 'click' when he picked up another phone. IS IT REALLY YOU???? Wowza. Wowza. WOWZA! In just a few seconds, 30+ years of absence disappeared. It was as if we'd only just spoken a few weeks ago. I'm not kiddin'. Sure, there were lots of details to fill in, but the vibe...the feeling of connection was right back in an instant. How freakin' cool is that?
Well, that phone call turned into a 2 hour marathon, neither of us wanting to hang up. Just like 2 kids in high school, whispering on the phone so your parents won't hear you, refusing to hang up until someone fell asleep. Silly. Goofy. Fantastic! It was wonderful to hear about his life, the big events and small. His voice sounds just like it always did, his laugh as familiar as my own. I'm tellin' ya, it was just such a HOOT. Finally, after 2 hours, we hung up the phone, promising another call soon. I went to bed with the biggest grin on my face, in wonder of the amazing string of events that lead to our 'finding' each other after all this time.
When I woke up this morning, I had a few seconds where I thought it'd been a dream. Did I really talk to him? I looked around my beautiful bedroom, trying to orient my brain, and then realized that it was true. We'd spoken on the phone and it wasn't a dream. I laid there for a bit, just thinking about how strange it all is. How strange to hear these ghosts from my past, and reliving some of the craziness we did back then. He remembered stuff I'd long forgotten. He told me about things I'd done for him, with him, that I'd erased from my memory, in hopes of letting go of the sadness of separation. We laughed a lot. And all that stuff came floating back, clear as a bell, images and all.
It's really pretty amazing when things like this happen. Just considering the whole "time factor" is a trip unto itself. How could that much time have passed? Time is so strange. And unfathomable. And utterly mysterious. But, regardless of time, some things don't ever change. And, apparently, a friendship such as ours is one of those things. Remarkable, doncha know?!
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