I got the following message from an old acquaintance from 7th grade. I have not spoken to him in literally 13 years:
Hi Carol,
I’m not even sure if you still remember me from back in the high school days. [Redacted], I went to St. Louis. I know it’s been a long time since I have seen you but, my New Years resolution was to look up some old friends that I lost touch with from the high school days. I’m not even sure if you remember me, but if you do… I decided to look you up because I had a close friend that lived near your mom’s house in Aiea and every time I drove by I used to wonder whatever happened to Carol. Long story short, he passed away in a traffic accident right before the holidays and thats the reason I decided to look up some people that I lost touch with over the years. I would’ve never reconnected with my friend if he never tried to find me a few years ago, and that got me thinking that I should seek out some important people from my past. I’m sorry if this is long winded and boring, but feel free to write back or if you don’t I’ll understand. It sounds like you have a great life and career. I wish you the best of luck in the future.
Take Care,
[redacted]
I wrote a few lines back to him and he wrote a reply that included the line, “It sucks that I lost touch with you. You were one of the truly good people that I met along the way.”
I had NO IDEA that this guy even thought of me in those terms. If someone had asked me whether or not I ever even crossed his mind, my answer would’ve been an immediate and unequivocal “no.” It just goes to show that you never, ever know what kind of effect you have on people, unknowingly and/or unwittingly.
Reading his messages—that was a good feeling.
