Old Acquaintances

I went home to Arizona for the holidays. Naturally the purpose was to be with my family, and I spent the bulk of the time with them, but I do my best to see friends when the opportunity presents itself. Regrettably, my friends from the Phoenix area have long ago scattered, and few remain in the area on a year-round basis. I do my best to see them. As for the rest, I just have to hope that they are coming home for the holiday and will be in town when I am.

It's a remarkable experience to see old friends after a while. An ordinary 'Hello' is inadequate, and a handshake or hug of normal strength doesn't seem to fit the bill either. When you're that glad to see someone, you have to just about kill them showing it. You have to be downright abusive verbally, or at least it is often like that with me. In a joking tone, the most vicious and disparaging things are said. I guess that's what may be meant by 'killing with kindness'. We're a peculiar type, my friends and I. Naturally we have deep affection, but this very odd way of showing it.

The reunions invariably carry on in this fashion. The one I'm thinking of was spent over dinner and with a game of football on television followed by a visit to the multiplex. That is not atypical. The previous time with the friend in question was partly spent in their home and partly at the theater as well. Is part of the appeal in seeing old friends the knowledge that one will have a familiar and comfortable experience? I suppose it is so that something new and different is what makes home a place you don't go back to. That's the case some for me and the house I largely grew up in.

I wonder what future trips back will hold. I don't know, but I can imagine that before long I won't need to go there in order to re-visit old relationships. Soon enough, ones which were initiated in my new home will lapse in greater numbers, leading me to have the experience I describe without leaving town. I think I covered this at some point in the past, but it probably can be repeated. It's just entropy and happens to us all. I only hope to keep alive what I can.