At 75 I’ve unfortunately seen far too many of my long-term friends disappear, either through their deaths or other life-changing events.
One of these events was of my own making: selling our stake in the Bay Area and moving to a college town in the Midwest nine years ago. Some of those old friends are still in touch through email. In the meantime we’ve both cultivated new friendships within the academic community, two of which are now retired giving us time to have weekly lunch dates.
However, my oldest truest friend and confidante is a lady who began as as a high school pen pal nearly 60 years ago. Even though she lives in Rovaniemi, Finland (on the Arctic Circle), I’ve managed to visit five or six times over the years. Our letters were filled with dreams and disappointments, loves and breakups, common interests and differences, our partners and our kids. I even fixed an all-American hamburger dinner for her, her siblings, and parents one time in the early 60s. It was kind of funny to see them all using knife and fork while I, being the awkward American, was eating with my hands!
