I'm at the point in life when it's comforting to be with old friends, people I've known virtually my entire life, and who know things about me that even I've forgotten.
Once a month several of us meet for breakfast and memories. Sometimes we linger longer than the conversation supports, so we just sit in silence, sipping coffee and enjoying the companionship of old friends.
Recently, I was reminded of a friend whom I haven't seen nor thought about for many years. A Facebook friend posted a short video about the SST Concorde. and how it was the most beautiful airplane ever built. It was fast, sleek, and short-lived. I never had the opportunity to fly on the Concorde, but my old friend did, and he shared every detail of his experience. A young executive - living large. Unfortunately, he too, lived a lifestyle that was sleek, fast, and short-lived.
We met shortly after moving to Tulsa and became fast friends with much in common. He had played college basketball, I'd played football. We played on the same softball team, played weekend basketball games, and even worked as umpires for a youth baseball league. We and our wives spent most weekends out on the town or at each others' homes playing cards, games, or watching that new television show, Saturday Night Live. We were both young with all the world at our disposal, or so we thought.
My career took off, and so did his. We both spent time on business trips, entertaining business associates, and doing all the things that we thought were important.
Then, about the time we started our families, things began to change. While I started to resent the travel that took me away from home, he seemed to relish it. While social drinking was the norm for business dinners, he began to take it to extremes. Soon the drinking seemed to the primary driver in his life. His home life deteriorated, his business associates began to drift away, and before long he was divorced and jobless.
The downward spiral had started, and I lost touch with my old friend. We've maintained our friendship with his ex-wife, and through her, I've kept tabs on his whereabouts and well-being. Life has not been kind to him, but had he made different choices, perhaps he too, would find comfort in the company of old friends.
I miss my old friend.....wish life would have been different for him, but what do I know.
