So, here I was in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and if memory served me correctly, my college roommate and dear friend, Al, lived somewhere nearby...
Now, for those of you who don't know the whole story, I'll briefly recap twenty some-odd years of history.
Al and I became best friends and roommates while attending Duke almost twenty-five years ago. We were like two peas in a pod. Some of the best experiences of my life were shared with Al, who, in addition to being "scary smart," was as kind and caring a person as one could ever hope to have the good fortune to meet.
I could go on and on about all the good times we had together, the crazy stunts we engaged in, and the many kindnesses Al extended to me, but, that's another topic for another post...
As is unfortunately too often the case, after I left school, we drifted apart and lost contact. Just so there is no doubt, I take full responsibility for that, as at the time I was even more of a moron and jerk than I am today (at least I hope I am less so), but that is also another topic, probably not for another post.
Anyway, I often thought about Al, and even tried to locate him via the Internet a few times over the years, but never succeeded.
About a year and a half ago, out of the blue, I got an e-mail from Al. Talk about receiving an early Christmas present! I was absolutely thrilled! Al had Googled me and found Witsdom.
Since then, we've been trading e-mails every now and then. The first few were mostly messages trying to fill in the gaps of twenty years of work, marriage, family, etc. Then we settled into the occasional update or off-the-wall message forward / tidbit. Somehow, in all of the messages back and forth, I had never thought to ask Al for his address or phone number.
Al and I had talked about getting together, but plans just never quite seemed to work out.
So, here I was in Gaithersburg, thinking maybe I wasn't too far from his house, but not knowing for sure, because I didn't know where he lived. And given the nature of my work schedule, I was hesitant to let Al know via e-mail that I was in the area, in case things once again didn't work out.
Well, to shorten an already long story, I sent Al an e-mail asking for his address, he replied, I found out he lived less than thirty minutes from where I am working, and I was able to carve out a few hours today to go visit.
Words can't (at least words I can come up with) describe how wonderful it was to see Al and Ursula. I must admit, I had been a little nervous about the visit. What if it was awkward, what if we didn't have anything to talk about, what if, what if, what if...
Well, all of that trepidation evaporated in about a microsecond as Al enveloped me in a giant bear hug seemingly before I was even fully out of the car!
Our time together just flew by. We reminisced about the past, talked about the present, speculated about the future. I have met few people who are as sentimental as I am, but I think Al is right up there with me. I could not believe some of the keepsakes that Al had held onto all these years. And Al's memory of names and events absolutely amazed me - time hasn't dulled that razor intellect.
Al gave me a tour of his beautiful home, and introduced me to his two handsome, polite sons.
Ursula prepared an absolutely delicious lunch of homemade fajitas which we feasted on as we chatted away.
Before I knew it, I realized (via the "help" of getting called from work) that I had stayed way past when I had committed to getting in to the office today. So, much as I hated to do it, I had to leave the pleasure of Al and Ursula's company.
Hopefully, it won't be another twenty-four years before we see each other again, and in the meantime, I have a couple of digital pictures and a 9/16ths combination wrench to serve as fond keepsakes of a day that I will savor for a long time.
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Posted by David at September 12, 2004 08:52 PM | Categorized under: A day in the life