Retirement is not without Hassles: Reconnecting with the past #61

I can remember years ago being stuck on the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney World.  We waited a long time to get on and once we finally got in full range of the sound speakers  everything stopped abruptly except the music.  We were trapped for a good forty-five minutes before finally being instructed to take our shoes off, roll up our pants, and wade through the water to the exit.  I heard the song, “It’s a Small World,” so many damn times that it’s stuck in my mind forever.  Now, in retirement, I’m living it.  In the past four months, so many former friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and co-workers have come back into my life.  It is truly a small world after all!

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It started by running into my ex-in-laws while in Florida.  I hadn’t seen them in nearly nearly 20 years, but we happened to be in the same place at the same time.  I then traveled to Tucson with my wife, who was on business, and happened upon a Facebook post from a fraternity brother who I hadn’t seen in 40 years.  Once again, in the same place at the same time.  We then visited with former neighbors that were great to see after 5 years apart. To add to the list,  I’ve crossed paths with a former boss, tailor, neighbor, and co-worker in our recent travels around the country.  This weekend I’ll be reunited with another college friend who disappeared from my life 35 years ago.  He and his wife are in town for a daughter of some close friends’ wedding.   Two additional work buddies are visiting Portland on business in the next month and we have plans to re-connect.  It’s been about 20 years since I’ve seen either one of them.  Finally, I just got off the phone with a friend who I hadn’t talked to in 20 years.  The story of our chance encounter I wrote in yesterday’s post:  Old Sport Shorts: Headlines.  For me, retirement is all about reflection, even though I have a lot of living yet to do.  My mind is now clearing of business clutter and I can focus on the important things, like friendship.  Maybe I’m just spending too much time on Facebook, and, if I am, it’s “my time,” one of the many privileges of retired life.  The time I have spent has been well worth the benefit of re-connecting.  In each case, I’ve found that after a few awkward moments you settle into that chemistry that drew you together years ago.

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Friendships are made and then somehow disappear.  If you’re lucky, like me, a few great friendships continue despite job changes, moves, divorces, separations, and

differences of opinion.  Most friendships don’t dissolve as a result of a disagreement.  You simply lose touch and get too busy to make the effort to get together again. The good news is you no longer have to wait for a class reunion to find people from your past.  If you’re retired, you now have the time and networking capabilities to find those lost friendships, and the joy of reconnecting.

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I’m not sure I want to find the kids who bullied me as a child.  Then again, maybe I could seek revenge!  With the internet, I don’t need a private detective to know where they are now. They’ve all grown up, and it would be well worth the laughs in revisiting those strained adolescent encounters.  I know that at least one attended my Mother’s funeral and it meant a lot to me.  I’ve also lost a few good friends through the years, and not even Facebook can bring them back. Unfortunately, they didn’t get to enjoy retirement, and it’s just another reason why I consider myself very fortunate in getting to this stage of life.  They are still in my dreams, however, so they will never be forgotten.

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There are many surprises left in life.  Who will I befriend or re-encounter next?  It’s what makes life worth living.