Sunday, February 20, 2011

Today's fortune: February 20, 2011

Today's fortune: It's time to write a letter or email to one who is distant.

As I scoured my e-mail address book looking for someone distant whom I could send a letter, I grew more and more depressed. Not only because I discovered, much to my dismay, that some of the people listed as contacts were deceased, but also because I realized I had fallen out of touch with nearly everyone else on the list. These are folks who, at one time or another, I deemed important enough to add to my address book. Now, they only exist to me as fragmented memories.

Jamie and I have a friend named Amy who keeps in contact with nearly everybody from her past. And she meets new people all the time. In fact, it's difficult to spend time with her at, say, a restaurant, because people are constantly coming by the table to say hello to her. Amy must never be lonely. I don't know how she does it, I really don't.

Well, for one, she's not lazy. I, on the other hand, am. Seriously. Do you know how much of an effort it has been for me these past 51 days to work up the strength to write about fortune cookies every day? When it comes to keeping in touch with old friends, I'm even less disciplined.

Part of it is Jamie's fault. I am so damned happy to spend time with her, I couldn't really care less about spending time with anyone else.

But this fortune is good, because I need to stay in touch with people. The past dictates the present and the future, and I need to retain a better grasp on my own personal history.

In that vain, I selected a friend from my contacts list and sent him a note. This particular person was a very close friend all through elementary school. We stayed over at each other's houses nearly every week, we ate lunch together at school every day and we played together at recess.

But middle school came, and our friendship began to crumble. We still spoke frequently as we passed in the hallways, but our lunch periods and recess times were different. He gained a new set of friends, and so did I. By the time high school rolled around, we were acquaintances and not much more.

I sent my old friend an e-mail today. I asked how he was doing, and I gave him the thirty-second update on my life since high school. I also asked him to let me know next time he's in town so we could meet up for lunch or coffee.

I don't know if he'll respond. I hope he does. But either way, I'm glad I wrote. And I'm going to try to overcome my inherent laziness by contacting more friends from the past.

4 comments:

  1. I applaud your endeavor, plus I am especially grateful for your literary efforts in fortune cookie escapades. I truly do enjoy following your inquiries, exploits, and conclusions.
    I have pondered this very conundrum regarding keeping in touch, as I tend to be tunnel visioned at times. If you are in my circle of awareness, sharing is pretty much effortless. But if, for whatever reason, circumstances push you out of my narrow focus ... well, I guess it is true: out of sight, out of mind. At least until something redirects the attention to a different area.
    I have one worthwhile thought to offer for your consideration ... emails, telephones, etc., work in BOTH directions. That is to say, if there is someone you have not kept up with, it is equally fair to say that they have not kept up with you either. So ... there is no blame. If you have an address ... just hit send. ;)

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