I had the luxury of traveling away from my present hometown for a quick 36-hour trip to take care of a little business and visit with two friends that I hadn't seen in 15+ years (other than on FaceBook). Fifteen+ years ago, we spent a fair bit of time together several times a month, and then life happened, people moved away, interests changed, people just did 'people stuff', and life moved on. We stayed tangentially connected because of social media, which sometimes feels more intimate than it actually is. Sometimes it does serve a degree of intimacy.
With one friend, it was a treat to be able to sit face-to-face sharing a meal of good Tex-Mex and just catch up. We'd talked for well over an hour, suddenly noticing how easily we fell back into that camaraderie that we used to share, and took completely for granted. So many stories we re-told, and so many were left unspoken.
With the other friend, we sat in her living room, in adjacent comfy chairs with her cats exploring as they chose, and the same magic happened. Real people, real life, real stuff. Clearly time had passed, but it was an illusion that the passing of time made any difference at all. What a joy.
Then later in the day, I was in the airport terminal having a lovely meal before heading out and I watched the people walking by. Since I used to live in this town, part of me wondered if I'd see anyone I recognized. No, and that was OK.
There was one young couple that caught my attention for several minutes, he was leaving and she was not. She did the obligatory recording of him waving goodbye, interrupted by a farewell kiss and hug, she watched him as he made his way through the security checkpoint. Who sang the song, about it being easier to be the one leaving than the one left behind? I'm sure I could find out, if it mattered enough.
Maybe that's what we are here to do. Just be there. Be present and support each other in any way we can. That's quite a good gig.
