Where were you 30 years ago?

So although it was unexpected, it was inevitable. With the advent of Facebook and Myspace and myclassmates.com, it was not a matter of if, but when. When would my past catch up with me?
It's not like it's outrageous and unusual, but it was, after all 30 years ago. Thirty years is a long time! Thank goodness most people change and grow and learn as the years go by. Unfortunately, an equal number of unfortunate souls consider their high school years the highlight of their life.

Here's where the curiosity factor weighs in. What on earth would posses someone to make contact with a classmate thirty years later? Well, a prom date and friend.. Okay, so that in itself is not really so unusual. What is unusual is how totally oblivious I was to how I was being perceived as I lived and learned throughout my high school years.

I do remember I hated the whole prom thing. It was not cool to go with your friends-girls or guys, and I had lots of friends who were guys. Guys who were your friends thought someone else was asking you. The whole thing was just stressful. Everyone ended up pretty miserable, whether you went or stayed home. I went. I should have stayed home.

SO, let's go back in time for a brief moment...I dare say there are an awful lot of cobwebs to be cleared..but I had friends, lots of friends, many girls, guys, and many who ended up marrying each other and who knows where they are today? Sometimes I wonder about some of them, but certainly there were too many acquaintances to keep track of.

SO then I find out 30 years later one of my friends thought he was more than a friend and he regrets not sharing this with me all these years!

Why would someone actually share this thirty years later? Maybe it is part of some therapy or something, like Dr. Phil. It is a total mystery and I cannot fathom all the poor souls out there I thought I couldn't live without and clearly, since I cannot even remember their names, I guess I can easily live without them. Those whose names I do recall will never hear from me, that's for sure. It is both intriguing and interesting and absurd, all at once.

So if there is a lesson in all this it is that I have probably not changed all that much. I still have lots of friends; sometimes I am totally oblivious, and that's probably a good thing; and my life is full of surprises. I try not to take myself too seriously, and in doing so, perhaps my intentions are misperceived. The people in my life I care deeply about, and the people I have not seen in or heard from in 30 years, well, not so deeply. I am curious, but not that curious.

Thirty years? Evidently it is not long enough to erase the past completely. Thirty years is an eternity and an instant. What you say and do and how you treat people today,will be remembered 30 years from now. Count on it.