We shouldn’t live in the past. Nor is it a good idea to worry too much about the future. A profound quote by Dodinsky: “Do not let your shadow walk you.”
But sometimes, it is a good feeling to look back and remember. To use the past as a tool… to guide us… to learn from. Maybe… to appreciate those experiences as an instrument for growth.
If we weren’t supposed to have memories… well… we just wouldn’t. But as it is…. we do. As James Matthew Barrie so aptly observed, “God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” Yep.
Today I was thinking about my youth and a couple of my very best pals. There is a movie called “Stand By Me” which is a fabulous story about four boys who are great friends. The last line of the movie, or nearly the last line, muses… “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”
Yep again. Strit and Tuck were those kinds of friends. We rarely used our first names. Krony. Tuck. Strit. Dang, we were politely audacious…and always on some important and perilous feat.
We played fastpitch softball together. North Riverdale Little League at the amazing Fenner Field Park. I don’t think the league or the park exist any more. But back in the day, playing there was as big as the wall at Fenway.
We ate gummy fish from the concession stand… dared each other to crawl through the sewer pipe at the edge of the park…. laughed at everything… and managed to be three good little ball players all the while. Those were excellent days and we were truly breathing in each second. Yet, at the same time, we just couldn’t wait to be older.
Look what happened. Now, I am older. Much older.
Sometimes glancing back will make you feel melancholy. I really miss those old friends. We lost touch over the years. But I will always have a special place in my heart for them.
But the thing about life is… with each sunrise, we can start the world anew. On this morning, the sky was full of wonder… and brimming with new memories…. waiting to be made.
“Old Times never come back and I suppose it’s just as well. What comes back is a new morning every day in the year, and that’s better.” ~George E. Woodberry
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