Strange bedfellows

During my lifetime, many diverse non-family individuals have entered the stream of my life. Some have become lifelong friends. Others appeared, then after a time began to drift away. This collage of people has made for what one might refer to as -- "strange bedfellows!"

Last weekend, I chanced to run into Rick Headley. Rick and I have known each since we entered the R-5 school system. Once we graduated from high school, our lives began to follow different routes. We simply did not see each other as often. When we met again, it was as if that long passage of time had simply evaporated. Like the faint ember in a nearly spent and cold fire, it took only this brief re-encounter, for the old fellowship to flame once more.

There have been a significant number of "Rick Headleys" in my life. It seems that it matters not, how long we travel between contacts, the foundations of our acquaintanceships, are intended to endure, for the duration of our times.

These trusted, never-to-end relationships are important, but it is the fleeting ones that drift in and out of our lives that I want to contemplate in this story. For while they had no lasting permanence, they often held great influence for a short time, within each of our many varied histories.

Many of these contacts developed, owing to the places and times of my life. There was an entire and very intense group of people that came into my life, during my college days.

When I left for college, there were only a handful of students from Nevada attending school at Pittsburg State. Occasionally I would run into them, but for the most part, I had entered a totally new world, devoid of the comfortable and familiar people, that I had known all my life.

In a way that was a blessing, not a curse. You learned to live in that new world. There were a lot of freshman back then, who didn't find their college time away from home for the first time, to be an enjoyable period. Quite a few were gone by the end of the first semester, returning to their more comfortable and familiar surroundings. That is in no way a condemnation of those people. It simply reflects the directions they wished for their lives.

I can't remember just exactly when it happened, but one day I just knew, that I wanted to stay at college even on the free weekends. Early on, I had found many justifications for returning home each Friday, following the close of classes. Once I became settled at college, I was afraid I would miss something with my new friends. Home was still there, but for a time it seemed a lot further away.

During that time, I thought these new attachments, were some of the strongest kinship bonds I would ever know, but time had a different plan for me. I doubt that I would even recognize some of those people now, and to be honest, I can't even remember most of their names.

Other alliances came and went, owing their existence to something as simple as proximity. One of the most common places where fraternization occurs is in the workplace.

I have been lucky in that area. I have enjoyed several different career opportunities. In each of these jobs, I was able to encounter new people and social settings.

Two of these past employment locations, offered vast numbers of new acquaintances. The Nevada State Hospital/Habilitation Center was my employer for many years. At one time there were well over a thousand other employees working there. It is a rare day when you go to the grocery store or Wal-Mart that you don't run into someone who worked there at the same time.

I taught high school and coached for 10 years in El Dorado Springs. Each year a new class of students numbering near 140, passed through my classroom. Those students and athletes were not exactly friends, but a bond was created just the same. Just as I admire and remember many of my own teachers and coaches, I receive the same in return from those former students.

Sometimes we owe our coalitions to our recreational choicesI have had several groups of friends that have appeared in my life because of a shared enjoyment of some activity.

In my early adulthood, fast pitch softball held a significant spot in my life. One year I ran the concession stand at the fairground ballpark. That summer I think I gained at least a couple hundred new friends.

Golf became a huge part of my life in my mid 30s. For well over 30 years, I have played with a group of golfers several times a week. We have often played in tournaments on weekends.

Another place I encountered new friends was when I attended sporting events. I love to watch our local high school athletes perform. One meets so many new people at the football, basketball, track, softball, and volleyball games.

I have been tailgating with a group of new friends for the past few years, at Arrowhead Stadium. It still amazes me when I realize that they come to watch our Chiefs from five different states.

These fellow tailgaters, although new in my life, have become very close -- we text, email, and Facebook, several times a week. We refer to ourselves as our Chief's family.

Life long friends are special. They are there for you, and they are also dependable. The "strange bedfellows" that have come and gone over the years, each made their mark on my life too. How many strange bedfellows like these did you have? Let your mind gaze back, and those faces and times will return once more.