A visit with a friend

Over the weekend I visited one of my oldest friends. He is one of those friends from the "old neighborhood." One of those friends from the days when life was still innocent and children listened to their parents. From the days when we, as children, thought we were invincible. From the days before life got busy and we had responsibilities. Before life got in the way...

In the weeks leading up to my visit with him I reminisced about old times. The days all of us kids spent running around the fields of our elementary school playing soccer until the sun went down. The days when "the old gang" would ride bikes to each others houses and the times we would run from house to house begging for ice cream money as the ice cream truck blared it's music through our neighborhood. Oh how we used to wish those days would never end...

As the years went on we found ourselves abandoning those fields and going off in different directions. We would see each other from time to time in the halls at school, during lunch or at church. We might occasionally run into each other in the mall or at a restaurant and would try our best to catch up with the little time we had to spare.

As time went on, we moved on...On to other groups of friends, relationships and different times. Things got to be more hectic and life got complicated. We all eventually moved out of the neighborhood and on to high school and eventually to college. We would see each other on campus and give each other a quick hug and catch up for a few minutes before heading off to the next class. We would update each other on what we knew of the people from the "old neighborhood" and promise to keep in touch. He joined the Army and got married and lived his life with honor and courage.

Until that day... that fateful day when he was wounded in Sadr City, Iraq while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. That was the day everything changed. No longer were we the innocent children from the soccer fields... at this moment we were adults and the war took one of our friends. When I heard the news I remember thinking about memories I hadn't thought about in years. Those days in the "old neighborhood"...those days with the "old gang."  Those memories hold a special place in my heart and those people are the reason those childhood memories continue to bring a smile to my face.

As I was preparing to visit my old friend, I couldn't help but think of those cherished memories again and one more time they brought a smile to my face. I can almost see him walking towards me with that beaming smile on his face and I can almost feel the rush of running up in down those fields for hours on end with my dear childhood friends. I wish I had done a better job of keeping in touch. I wish life didn't always get in the way.

I visited my friend and I hope he knows I was there...