Ran into a guy this morning who I had not seen in 40 years. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 07-12-2009, 10:25 PM

I was down in Madison Indiana over the weekend camping and fooling around and this morning we went into a restaurant, ordered and to kill time took my grandson outside and there was a fellow sitting at an outside table reading a newspaper and I asked him where he got it.... as the fellow started telling me I realized he looked familiar and after a minute more I recognized his voice and him.

He was a fellow I used to hang around a fairly good amount of time in 1966/67 my senior year of high school. I had literally not seen him in 40 years or so. Astonishingly he looks about the same except for gray hair and wrinkles. He is a slender lean fellow and must be nearly the same weight he was in high school.

I invited him in to sit with us and we talked.

We went to high school together at Greencastle high school (population 8,000). After hs we went our separate ways and lived different places. I live now in Lafayette Indiana (35 years) he lives in Madison (20 years).

It was a real hoot. I think its probably the most startling thing that has ever happened to me along these lines...to see someone after so long and they actually look pretty much the same.

(He did not say that I look the same......I am at least 50# heavier now!)

Skid Row Joe · #2 07-12-2009, 10:40 PM

One weekend. I was riding the 'L' (elevated railway) in Philadelphia, PA. when I lived there in 1973 during my regional sales training. I was reading the paper, and when I finished reading it, I folded it, and sat on it, because the car was nearly full of passengers, and there was no where to put it. A guy across the aisle was looking, and asked me if I was finished reading it? I said; "no." I stood up, opened the paper, turned the page, folded it, and sat down on it again." I thought the old coot was going to have a coronary right on-the-spot......LOL!

t walgamuth · #3 07-12-2009, 10:58 PM

Such a thoughtful post really deserves its own thread.

THE ARS · #4 07-12-2009, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

One weekend. I was riding the 'L' (elevated railway) in Philadelphia, PA. when I lived there in 1973 during my regional sales training. I was reading the paper, and when I finished reading it, I folded it, and sat on it, because the car was nearly full of passengers, and there was no where to put it. A guy across the aisle was looking, and asked me if I was finished reading it? I said; "no." I stood up, opened the paper, turned the page, folded it, and sat down on it again." I thought the old coot was going to have a coronary right on-the-spot......LOL!

You are an *******.

If I ever run into you I am going to take your paper.

Dig it?

EDIT: I am sorry, that story pissed me off.

Brother, feel good if he didn't tell you to shave your gray beard because it makes you look old.

That's all I hear.

Thing is, I AM old. Pretty sure it's not the beard.

INAPPROPRIATE
B.C.

Skid Row Joe · #5 07-12-2009, 11:11 PM

Actually I visited by cell phone last night with a guy that I had not talked with in almost 40 years. He's a lot heavier, according to reports from the reunion, as am I, but still the same old Doug I knew In Omaha. It was great to visit again.

Also heard from another ex-pat southerner raised in Mississippi and Louisiana, that spent 10 years in Omaha too. Haven't seen Dave in 40 years, but visited with his Mom 10 years ago in New Orleans when there on business. He now lives in Seattle......funny. Re-unions are so much fun!!

davestlouis · #6 07-12-2009, 11:20 PM

Tom W, that's a great story. I have been reconnecting with gradeschool friends on facebook lately, after 25 or so years of non-contact. I used to purposely avoid people I grew up with, but have hit a point where I'm reopening communication...it's kinda cool.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I have an observation. I moved away from the west side of Cincinnati at age 18 because I found it stultifying. The people I've reconnected with who still live there all go to the same restaurants, see the same people at the country club, remember all of our grade school teacher's names. Many of them send their kids to the same schools they attended. It's like a time warp they live in. I have found that the people who moved away are a lot more fun to talk to.

Skid Row Joe · #7 07-12-2009, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davestlouis

Tom W, that's a great story. I have been reconnecting with gradeschool friends on facebook lately, after 25 or so years of non-contact. I used to purposely avoid people I grew up with, but have hit a point where I'm reopening communication...it's kinda cool.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I have an observation. I moved away from the west side of Cincinnati at age 18 because I found it stultifying. The people I've reconnected with who still live there all go to the same restaurants, see the same people at the country club, remember all of our grade school teacher's names. Many of them send their kids to the same schools they attended. It's like a time warp they live in. I have found that the people who moved away are a lot more fun to talk to.

Well-travelled people are more interesting to say the least.

The more travelled.....the more interesting.

pawoSD · #8 07-13-2009, 02:03 AM

Wow.......40 years is nearly double my age.

Anywho...aside from a couple friends in HS (whom I'm still friends with), I'd prefer to never encounter any of those people ever again!

As for the post about the newspaper....that is not really something to be proud of. You know what they say....karma....look out.

t walgamuth · #9 07-13-2009, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davestlouis

Tom W, that's a great story. I have been reconnecting with gradeschool friends on facebook lately, after 25 or so years of non-contact. I used to purposely avoid people I grew up with, but have hit a point where I'm reopening communication...it's kinda cool.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I have an observation. I moved away from the west side of Cincinnati at age 18 because I found it stultifying. The people I've reconnected with who still live there all go to the same restaurants, see the same people at the country club, remember all of our grade school teacher's names. Many of them send their kids to the same schools they attended. It's like a time warp they live in. I have found that the people who moved away are a lot more fun to talk to.

Yeah, its interesting to talk to the few folks who have stayed in Greencastle their whole lives. Its true they know the names of all the old teachers and what the name of their dogs are now etc.

It was not an option for me since an Architect would not be able to survive in such a small town, but there certainly is nothing wrong with making that choice.

LUVMBDiesels · #10 07-13-2009, 08:09 AM

I love facebook and Classmates.com

I have found people who I thought were dead, I had not heard from them in so long! i have been having a blast reconnecting with people from 26+ years ago -- I even met my first high School girlfriend on FB and it turns out that we have been living parallel lives, Always pretty close to each other in geography but never seeing each other -- but that we are almost 100% alike in many ways. It is funny how life is sometimes.

G-Benz · #11 07-13-2009, 08:17 AM

Came home to help my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. I got to see a few cronies that weekend!

My best encounter however was back at a 10-year HS reunion. There was a girl that I had an insatiable crush on all the way back to 4th grade, and I used to write her little love notes, despite being fairly awkward and nerdy. She was nice, but avoided me at every turn once my real feelings were known by her.

Years later, I met her at the reunion, and she cornered me and we had a casual, but lengthy conversation...she gave me her phone number and insisted that we get together soon!

Never called her though...too scared

dynalow · #12 07-13-2009, 09:06 AM

Good story Tom.

Couple of memories from my 40th HS reunion (almost 6 yrs. ago now) @ Curtis HS, Staten Island, NY,
I went alone since I wasn't dating anyone in particular at the time. I was approached by a woman, one of the nicer looking ones there, btw. She say hi and asks me if I remember her. She wasn't wearing a name or photo tag, so I sheepishly said no. "I'm XXXXXX XXXX. I was your date at the Senior Prom."

. Boy did I feel like an azzole.

We chatted and had an enjoyable time. Her husband wasn't there. (HE was my classmate. She was a year behind us). Good for her though, she still looked darn good for a 60's woman.

The other story is I had the chance to visit the mother of another classmate and best HS friend. Another close friend, Dave was in town for the reunion and and I went to visit this guy's mother, who I assumed was long ago departed. She liked to had a heart attack when she saw me. When my best HS friend returned from an out of town trip that weekend, he emailed me and said his mother carried on so about seeing me after 40 years, you'da thought Jesus Christ himself had visited her. (His words, not mine).

Jorn · #13 07-13-2009, 03:16 PM

Nice story, made my day

t walgamuth · #14 07-13-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G-Benz

Came home to help my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. I got to see a few cronies that weekend!

My best encounter however was back at a 10-year HS reunion. There was a girl that I had an insatiable crush on all the way back to 4th grade, and I used to write her little love notes, despite being fairly awkward and nerdy. She was nice, but avoided me at every turn once my real feelings were known by her.

Years later, I met her at the reunion, and she cornered me and we had a casual, but lengthy conversation...she gave me her phone number and insisted that we get together soon!

Never called her though...too scared

Better call her! (unless you are married) She wouldn't have given you her number unless she wanted to hear from you!

WVOtoGO · #15 07-13-2009, 06:00 PM

Cool story, Tom.

In the aviation industry we are constantly running into people from yester-years.
It’s unbelievable just how small this industry really is.
At least once a month or so, I’m walking through an FBO and running into someone I had some aviation tie to years back. It’s neat to find out what they’ve been up to and how they got where they are now. What they are flying and for who.
Seems like somehow, everyone either knows someone else that you do, or at least someone else that does. (I hope that makes some sense.)
That’s why they say: “Never burn a bridge in the aviation industry”.

- Shelby