30 Days to a Better Man, Day 7: reconnect with an old friend

Time to say hello to my little friend.

No, not that one. Let's just call this friend Dirk. He's been a great pal of mine since high school. Unlike a lot of my other friends, he was quite a cerebral fellow, soft-spoken, erudite, calm, moderate and easy to get along with. His very presence was a soothing tonic on some days. You know the type. Anyway, he had a most diverse knowledge of international relations and diplomacy (which he later went on to specialize in at college) and we would speak at length about it together.

So it goes. The years marched on, and the two of us went our separate ways. He attended the University of California at San Diego and I hopped that plane to the Great White North (North Dakota State University, that is). He got steady work in Southern California, and I went overseas to Korea to find my fortune.

Ah-ha. You'll notice I said "steady work." That's because I have no idea what Dirk did during the intervening years, or even precisely what he's doing now, Facebook or no Facebook. I know he's in a relationship, but I can't recall his girlfriend's face. (Before you ask, I've never met her.)

The Art of Manliness has a rather touching story about Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State, William H. Seward, and a friendship he had in his youth with a man called David Berdan. Read it. It makes the rest of this make sense.  Needless to say, after reading AoM's article, it didn't take me long to figure out who I was going to reconnect with. I sent out some lines of communication this morning. As per the article's instructions, I did not use Twitter. I don't have Twitter, and never shall, so it was easy. I e-mailed the dude. I asked him about his girlfriend, his life, his work, and so on (not in that order). I'll let you know when I hear back.

Hang in there for Day 8.