Time is Short

A few days ago my dear friend Jeanne, who moved to Alexandria three years ago, texted me that she was going to be in North Carolina and did I have time to meet her at needlepoint and have lunch. When a friend shows up you must do everything possible to see them, so I moved my day around so I could spend as much time with her as she had. Our visit did not disappoint me and we had a wonderful time catching up, even if all the news was not good.
Yesterday I got a call from my friend Lee telling me that a good friend of her and her husband Tom had passed away. Tom and I were classmates in college and the friend who passed was his fraternity brother who I knew, John McClatchy. At fifty-six we are just too young to be loosing our contemporaries.  
I sent an email to five very close college friends telling them of the sad news. We don’t all see each other as often as we used to since life, children and work keep us far apart. But this news caused us all to respond quickly to each other. My friend Hugh, said it felt like the Big Chill, and he was claiming the role of John Hurt. Funny since he is the least likely drug dealer I know.  
The chances to spend time with friends has to seized upon because we do not know how often those encounters will come along. I implore you dear readers to reach out to a few old friends who you have not seen in a while and tell them what they mean to you. I promise they have not forgotten you and probably think of you often. Time is short.