A recent blog post noted how my recent vacation was more social than most. Allow me to go in to detail on one incident.
This all started a few years ago. A high school friend called me out of the blue and wanted to get together. I declined. And, I declined two more invitations. My schedule is bizarre, even on my days off. I did feel badly about blowing off an old friend. A vacation eventually rolled around and I told my friend to pick a day and place. I'll make it happen. That led to getting together two or three times a year.
Of course, we skipped 2020.
When my most recent vacation week arrived, my friend arranged a small gathering of high school classmates in his back yard, some I hadn't seen in more than forty years. It was nothing extravagant. Just a few of us sitting around a fire pit.
Have you ever agreed to something, and then instantly regretted it? Well, that was me a couple of weeks ago. We've all gone in very different directions. Some in manufacturing. Some in construction. I write. They hunt and fish. I take photographs. They've traveled. I've stayed close to home. They've raised families. I've never found someone crazy enough to marry me. They build things. I write things. They camp. My view of "roughing it" is staying in a hotel with bad cable. I feared an awkward evening with a bunch of people, and nothing in common. No one is better than anyone else, just different. I should add that I have never attended a high school reunion and I don't see one in my future.
Well, the big night rolled around, and I had the greatest time!
We talked about the old days and what's happened over the past forty years. We talked about the future.
There were plenty of laughs, plus a few sad moments when we remembered the people who are no longer around.
There are times when nothing in common is a good thing. You ask questions and learn about the different paths people have taken.
I don't know if there will ever be another night like that one, but I sincerely hope some of us will get together again.
