Do you ever think back to your younger years and the people who were important to you then and ask yourself, "I wonder what ever happened to________?" I used to do this on occasion, but now it's become somewhat of a hobby. Ever since the social networks of 'Classmates' and 'Facebook', etc., it's developed into this online version of 'hide & seek' or 'where's Waldo' except you're not actually looking for Waldo. Rather your goal is to hunt for the lost tribe of yesteryear and see what develops. With luck, they'll remember who you are and accept the extended olive branch. From there the interaction can be minimal or fully engaged. The point is in the connection. The challenge to this process of locating them comes in 2 forms: 1) when looking for a woman who likely has changed her name in marriage, and 2) sifting through the hundreds of people who have the same name. This is further complicated when there is no picture to help eliminate obvious non-qualifiers due to age, gender or race. So, you can see that it's not as easy as it looks and you may just have to accept that you never will get the 'ol gang back on the radar. And sometimes it's better not to know. It does come with a warning though... can be a MAJOR time waster. Especially if you are of the 'never say die' breed. And it's addictive. I'm telling you this purely as a warning... don't say I didn't tell ya!
I've been lucky though, really lucky in that I've found almost all of my bestest friends, or in some cases, they found me. There's something special about sharing a past and seeing the path each has taken; to compare notes and show off children. Some relish the reconnection, others just like to know you're there and it's all good. You set out to bridge the years of not knowing and you did it.
Now, you will wonder no more.
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