old friends
I was facebooked a while ago (akin to being googled, facebooked is now a verb I’ve heard in conversation) by an old friend of mine from years ago, Ethan Pickering. He claimed to be going to Redding over winter break, and wanted to know if I would like to hang out and get some coffee and catch up and whatnot. This shows how old of a friend he is, as neither I, or my parents, have lived in Redding for nearly 3 years now.
I replied and told him I wasn’t going to be in Redding again, (ever) (god help me) but told him to look me up in Chico as it’s not too far. I never heard back.
So I forget about it, go home to San Jose to hang out with the family for Christmas. Lo and behold, my mother tells me that Victoria Pickering had called her and wanted to know if we could get together the day after Christmas! What a trip!
So they both came over (mother and son) and we had breakfast, caught up on where we we’re all at. He’s at the University of Michigan now, and is doing well. We were trying to think back… he moved away to Indiana when we were in the 5th grade, so it had been at least a decade since we had last seen each other in person. It’s hard to imagine that! That’s half my lifetime!
So we reminisced about old friends for a couple hour or so before they had to be on their way. I asked Ethan, and he said they were driving up to Redding and he was goin to see some old friends, including Zach, Jay (who we both know separately), and Jeff, who we were in cub scouts together with.
Okay, time jump 24 hours later. I’m in San Francisco with my mom, and we’re shopping at H&M on Powell. I’m trying on a coat when I turn around and meet eyes with someone familiar… We both kind of look at each other for a second before I comprehend that it’s Jay Mantri! We smile, greet, and marvel at how it’s such a small world before going our separate ways; I wound up getting the coat :)
Quick recap: I see an old friend from a decade ago from Indiana who’s out to visit. We talk about a guy who we both know from different circumstances. I go to SF, and see that same guy – who I havn’t seen since high school – 200+ miles from his home.
What a weird world we live in :)