Many of you have probably already realized, I have a tendency to be a bit nostalgic. I guess it has to do with my age, and the fact that I have been blessed to gather wonderful memories over the years and I often feel a great deal of happiness when something triggers those wonderful memories. It may be an old song I hear on the radio, or an old photograph posted on social media. It may even be something as simple as seeing a date on the calendar.
Today’s date is one that brings up especially fond memories. In addition to being the birthday of a very good friend, today marks another special “anniversary” of sorts. On this date, in 1980 (hard to believe that was 44 years ago), I was packing to leave for Tucson, Ariz. for an adventure I had only dreamed of a few months earlier. The next day, I left home to begin my year with the group, Up With People. Many of you are probably familiar with that group. Little did I know that July 5, the experience that lay ahead for me. It would be a challenging year. I would learn that I am capable of much more than I ever gave myself credit for. I would learn the power of simple acts of kindness and the fact that those simple acts can have long-term effects. I would make friendships that continue to this day.
I also remember earlier that day before I began stuffing my suitcase, my dad and I went on one of our “adventures.” It was under the guise of taking the trash off, but primarily it consisted of conversation about anything we could think of and seeing what we could see. That particular day, we decided to try our luck at fishing in some standing water in the swampy areas near the landfill. We did manage to catch a couple of catfish. Any time spent fishing is a good time.
I’ve had people ask me, “How do you remember those things from that far back?” For me, it’s like starting a video in my mind. I can play that video and almost relive those moments. I don’t even have to figure out how to stop the video playing from constantly blinking “12:00” all the time.
Whatever memories are on right now in the video player of your mind, I hope they are pleasant ones, here on the sunny side.