The phone rang Wednesday. It was noon and Ali and I were just lounging around. She grabbed the phone, looked at the caller ID, and handed it to me. The name and number on the display didn't immediately ring a bell, but I had a feeling I should answer the call.
When I heard the voice on the other end, I realized why the name had made me want to answer the call. The caller was Rob, one of my oldest and dearest friends. The name on the display was his wife's first and maiden names.
Rob and I met in 1978 when I moved back home from Nashville and enrolled at the University of Kentucky. I had just pledged a fraternity that Rob was a member of. We became fast friends from the day we met. We were so close, he became an honorary member of the Courtney family.
Rob stayed in Lexington after graduation, and worked in a number of different jobs. He never did find work in his major field, though, and he eventually moved home to New York after the death of his father.
We kept in touch over the years, usually talking on the phone a couple of times a year or so. He got married and settled down and has changed careers a couple of times.
It had been a while since we had last talked. Almost a year. I would think about him from time to time, but never called him as I wasn't sure of his work schedule.
On Wednesday, he was scheduled to work the second shift, going in at 3 in the afternoon. In his mail that day he had received a complementary copy of the UK Alumni Association magazine and it made him think of me and that we hadn't talked in a while. So he took a chance I would be home and called.
It was great to chat with him again. We filled each other in on what was going on in our respective lives. He knew I had been traveling a lot the past couple of years and asked if I had any plans. I told him about our plans to go to France and Scotland next month and to go to New York City in December.
He was thrilled to hear of the New York trip and said that he thought it would be possible for him and his wife to drive down from their upstate home to spend a couple of days with us. I sure hope we can meet up as we have not seen each other since he left Lexington.
It was great to hear from him again. We used to email each other all the time, but he no longer has Internet access. He lives in a small rural community with no prospects of broadband, and Internet access is not a part of his present career either.
I'm going to make it a point to give him a call more often in the future.
I'm glad he called, and that I got to talk to him, since you'd told me so much about him. Can't wait to meet him in real life!
And yeah, the phone is a great way to keep in touch. I think we tend to forget that in these times.
Posted by: Alison | September 29, 2006 at 21:48
I would love to see Rob again. I hope we can catch up in New York.
Posted by: Jo Ann | September 29, 2006 at 22:21
That would be exciting to get that call. There are many of my sorority sisters that I have lost touch with, but often think about. I would love to hear from them.
Posted by: Margaret | September 30, 2006 at 02:23
Testing.
*smooch*
Posted by: Alison | September 30, 2006 at 23:22
I have been thinking about this post for a while, and if you look at what I have been writing, I have been disturbed about people not talking to each other. You have influenced me. Hint, long distance calls count the same as local calls on a cell phone. Get a cell phone with unlimited minutes after 7:00 pm. Then you can call me too. Voila!
In return, let me say that you are lucky. I had at least two people who I was that close with, who are no longer with us. One died when we were 27, suddenly. The other in our 40's, and I didn't find out until he had been gone for two years.
Ali can tell me that y'all waved 'hi' to me after you get back. It's OK, don't wait. A bird in the hand......the future comes with an error factor......
OK, pass the chocolate and the beer, and some of that fancy pulled pork BBQ, and maybe some hash browns and some cole slaw, and the ........
Posted by: The CEO | October 01, 2006 at 16:25