The Phone Call

Had a phone call with a very old friend yesterday afternoon. Known him since I was a teenager. He was the best man at my wedding. A bit older than me. Lost touch with him off and on during my time in the Marines. Eventually lost him completely. No excuses. Just shit happens I guess. But today we reconnected.

We started off by fast forwarding through our current situations. Mostly health related challenges. Because we're older now and have them. His are worse than mine. During the last few months, he's had surgery to remove one leg and all toes on his other foot due to infection. But his spirit is up. He's taking it well. Better than I probably would.

Then we talked about our kids. His grandkids. And his great grandkid. A whole generation I missed out on knowing about.

We talked about amateur radio. He's a ham too. Not active anymore, but he still has a small handheld he said. We talked for a while about that and the setup I'm working on. He gave me tons of advice and recommendations. Stuff I wouldn't have known otherwise. Stuff that only comes from experience. It felt like old times. Just two guys talking about radio and life.

Well, he started to yawn. So I knew he was tired. Let him know I would let him go and call him later on in the week. But if he wanted to talk more, to just call. Anytime.

It felt so amazing and refreshing to talk to my old friend Rick again. Years of silence. Life getting in the way. And then one phone call and it's like no time passed at all. That's how it is with real friends. The ones who matter. You pick up right where you left off. I should have called sooner. But I'm glad I called now.

Don't wait to reach out to the people who matter. You never know how much time any of us have left.

Thanks for reading,
Joe

_{Notes:
-All content is mine unless otherwise annotated.
-Images are my own unless otherwise noted.
-Photos edited using Linux photo editor and drawing and/or iPhone SE.
-Page Dividers from The Terminal Discord.}