I went to a funeral a couple of weeks ago for a man in our community.  I really don't remember much about him, but his children are or once were an important part of my life.  I consider this man's son and his wife an uncle and aunt.  The two middle children are there on the edge of my memory, but nothing memorial about our relationship.  The youngest was my first playmate at the age of around 3 or 4.

Living in the country in the 50s was a lonely existence, especially for small children.  Things changed as we got older, but our nearest neighbor was one mile away and my playmate was two miles away.  Our mother's got us together when they could and even though I don't remember much about our play I do remember the friend.  Her parents split before the start of school - their divorce was another first for me.  So I didn't run into my friend again until junior high school.  I was a little taken aback that she seemed not to know me.  This continued through high school.

At the funeral I realized she really didn't remember me in school.  As I walked up to offer my condolences, I advised she probably wouldn't remember me, but . . .  Her response was of course I remember you!  You were my first playmate and I haven't seen you in 55 years.  Well, that explains it - through the last 6 years in school, she didn't know who I was and didn't remember.

Finding old friends is such an eye opener!

Happy reading!
Belle