“Those crazy nights, I do remember in my youth. I do recall, those were the best times, most of all.”
— From a Journey song
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I’ve always been amazed with technology.
Not that I truly understand it, but it is certainly a fascinating thing. I was reminded of this last week after a co-worker helped me start an account on Facebook. Within a matter of hours, I had already reconnected with several friends, many of whom I had not seen or heard from in years, decades, even.
Keeping in touch with friends and former co-workers is something I have always tried to do. However, despite my best efforts, many times it’s simply not possible to continue doing so after an extended amount of time.
As time passes, friends move to different cities, change jobs, start families and enter into new phases of their lives. It’s a natural occurance. Still, I find myself thinking about them. “Where are they these days?” “Do they have their own families?” “What profession did they go into?” “Would they even remember me?” These are some of the questions which have gone through my mind through the years about long ago friends and former classmates.
I am pleased to report I found my answer to many of these questions about some former colleagues last week shortly after my account was created on Facebook. I actually had attempted to do this some time ago with MySpace and while I was able to find a few former friends from high school as well as a couple of college buddies, I must admit that the MySpace page of your humble columnist was all but dead. Little, if any, activity floated in although I continued to update it and post pictures and musings on sports and politics.
My better half had told me that MySpace was really for younger people, as in teenagers, and perhaps Facebook would be a better avenue for me. She was completely right.
I was amazed at how many people I was able to reconnect with and then talk with back and forth via e-mail when we were connected as “friends” on the site. Former high school buddies and I talked about old times, laughing at them, and I even heard from a classmate I had not seen (or heard from) since our graduation night almost 20 years ago.
Seeing current pictures of my friends has helped close the gap between the times we have seen each other. It has been great reestablishing ties with so many and I must admit it put a little spring in my step last week after hearing from them.
There was a time not all that long ago that something like this would have been impossible. It would have taken hiring a private investigator (where’s Magnum, P.I. when you need him?) to find friends from the past.
However, with technology being what it is today, finding friends from days gone by is easier than ever.
I hope to be able to find more friends whom I haven’t heard from in years. As someone who has always placed a high level of importance on friendship, this has been like finding the proverbial gold mine.
They say we’re only as old as we feel and after hearing from so many friends from my youth, I must admit to feeling a little younger today. And with my ever-aging body, any time I can feel a little younger it is a good thing.
Chris Bridges is an editor with Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail comments about this column to chris@mainstreetnews.com.
