Remember When

At first I suppose there was the thought of how things use to be; and over time, how things are now. Like the time I thought about a childhood friend name Dennis, and how I would have loved to see him again. With a guy like Dennis there would have been so many “remember when’s”, and “what? I never knew that”. We would have talked about all the years that came between and separated us for decades without a word. But you see, a short while after I wrote about Dennis, I discovered that he had died in a fire many years before. And just like that, all my dreams of ever seeing Dennis again faded away. So I thought to myself, “How sad, I never knew”. Not even an opportunity to pay respects for a beloved childhood friend. Why did we never bother to connect or even inquire about one another? Even now, when I think about it, my eyes get watery, but a fresh bash of determination ignites a fire inside of me. It's the kind of fire inside of me that burns to the point whereby I want to hasten the chase. I want to find another old friend before someone else bites the dust. I just want to say, Hi”, or “What’s happening? ”, or “What’s been going on for the past 30 or 40 years”? What is so wrong with that? We have gone hi tech, but we have also gone far too long detached. Why must we disconnect, disassociate, disregard, and let old times and memories die? Why can’t we find or take the time? Why can’t we just reconnect if but for a day or an hour to just laugh or cry? There is too much pain to allow life to go on this way, when otherwise we have so much to gain before we all die. I say no! Life was never meant to be a mad rush to the freeway only to be backed up by traffic. My quest has already begun. I’m on a mission, and I cannot stop; because I've got light to shine and love to share. 032808 5:15 PM PSTPSContest #325, Brian Strand