Thursday July 20, 2006 Past friends

Life passes by so quickly.

You get very few second chances to correct the mistakes and right the wrongs you left in your past. Childhood, while seeming endless at the time, is just a fleeting wisp of a memory later in life. Your days of schooling, while seeming to be grueling at the time, seem in retrospect to be wonderful carefree days of youth and friendship and exploration. And life races on. Those friends you left in your past linger in your memory and you wish you had had the courage to express how they touched your life and how they are still vibrant and alive in your thoughts. Loved ones you slighted and friends you argued with over some petty insignificant forgotten subject have faded from your life and you regret having lost those you once held so dear.

Life can end at any time, without warning, and you'll never have the chance to apologize for your mistakes or to correct any wrongs you performed.

A dear friend from my college days died earlier this month.

I hadn't seen him in many years and had lost touch with how his life progressed. I regret that I didn't take the few moments necessary to communicate with him and to let him know that he still dwelt in my thoughts as a wonderful young friend from long ago. I have been remiss in communicating with many people who have helped shape my life and helped make me the man I am today. I would tell them all how much they mattered to me and how memories of them and the times we shared still bring me much joy.

So, if any of my friends from the past happen to read this, please know that I am talking directly to you when I say that your friendship is still carried in my heart and I fondly remember the times we shared.