Out of the blue

Sometimes those unexpected, out of the blue contacts are the best. We had just rolled in the driveway from church this morning when an unknown, smiling guy about William's age appeared. Turns out he was Michael, William's best friend from childhood, not unknown after all, in town to hook up for lunch with a friend of his who was visiting a girlfriend in the area. He had stopped by the old neighborhood out of curiosity, I am sure, on his roundabout way from home to his college another 90 minutes or so away. He didn't have our number and took a chance on pulling in to see if we were home.

I'm glad we were. Michael had lived down the street until about ten years ago, when the family moved downstate. William and Mike went to different schools, but after school they could commonly be seen hanging out together, playing whiffle ball in the side yard, or plotting other nefarious activities. It was pretty rough seeing that family move; Michael's sister was a great friend of our daughter, so it was a double whammy when they moved out.

And now, the towering, articulate, baby fat-free Michael was scanning the back yard, taking in more memories than we can probably imagine, complaining that we got rid of the swing set. I offered an apology but said it really would not be a very good ride for him now. He was laughing about it, still all smiles and good natured, as I remember him from when he was half as old.

He caught up with us and us with him as we sat in the living room. His sister is married and has a good job in her chosen field; the younger sister is out of high school. Mom and dad are fine. And Mike wants to teach high school. Of course, in my brain, Mike should not even be IN high school yet, since everything froze in place when the moving van pulled away ten years ago.

It was a special hour as we talked. Then, Mike got the call from his friend and arranged the rendezvous, soon excusing himself for his lunch engagement. Hugs all around and he was gone, driving away. Little (big) Mike, driving! It's funny how important people can be to you even when you see them as little as once a decade.