Some say you can never go home again. I prescribe to the belief that you can go home again… you just can’t stay there. As we march forward through life we are irrevocably changed. Some times for the better and sometimes for the worse, but it is impossible to truly ascertain which which is which.

While change is a constant, we need to continue to hold on to the things we hold dear. This may be a solid object like the teddy bear my grandmother made for me when I was a child. It can also be the friendships we made with the people who most profoundly affected who we are now. Those are the benchmark moments in life that need to be remembered and even maintained. I have been able to keep a cursory contact with a lot of the great influencers in my life because it keeps me whole and grounded. It gives me strength. There have been a few who have fallen away from contact.

While I have found it easier to beat myself up about the people I have lost, I have come to realize that communication is a two way street and you cannot discard that which also moves away from you on it own. Case in point, today I went to Google to try and find a friend that I have not had contact with in 14 years. I have tried this trick before only to end of disappointed by the results. Two good friends from growing up that I have never been able to find had to be out there somewhere. Well, I think I may have found one today. We will have to see if indeed he is the Derek Dysart of legend. I sent him an email so hopefully I will know soon whether that lost connection…that long ago lost piece of my childhood is attached to my otherwise fortunate life.

Always remember your friends. I do not place the mantle of friendship on just anyone. These are the remarkable people who for their part have brought out the best and worst in me. They have stoked the fires of ingenuity, boiled the pot of passion, and consumed the mana of life. Thanks, friends, wherever you are. Know that you continue to live within me as part of me….blah blah blah. I think the mushy wagon is leaving grand central right now, so I best get on it.