Ever crossed paths with an old friend and said to one another, "How long's it been? When's the last time we saw each other?"

That happened to me the other day. I had dinner with one of my best friends from high school - and we have our wives to thank for getting us back together.

Our wives work for the same (large) organization and recently they were attending the same event when they ran into each other.

One thing led to another and by the end of the day they had a date set for the four of us to get together for dinner.

Tom was one of my best friends in high school. In fact, he was also one of my closest friends in college - but then life happened.

After graduating we both ended up with jobs in Sioux Falls. Even though we assumed we would stay close, Tom eventually went his way and I went mine.

Early on after graduation we would get together on a "somewhat" regular basis, but after awhile the time in between grew longer and longer.

Eventually it reached the point where we would only see each other at funerals - I know, how sad.

But this past week we got to enjoy a meal together and get reacquainted - laughing at old memories and catching up on each other's life.

The good news to report is before leaving we all got out our calendars and set a date to get together again in early May.

So why does stuff like this happen? I realize life is busy, but I feel bad for not staying in contact with Tom - after all, we were best friends.

Now that I'm into my 50's and the fact that the obit section is the first part of the paper I turn to, it makes one sit up and take stock in their own life.

Perhaps it's true - with age does come wisdom.

Thanks to a wonderful evening sharing a meal with Tom and his wife Dee, it's made me reset my priorities - family and friends really are the most important things in life.

So my challenge to you is to reach out and call or write that old friend of yours, the one you often think about. Do it before it's too late and you read about them in the obit section.


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