"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." - Ford Prefect In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books there are many memorable quotes from all of the major characters. Ford Prefect seems to have the majority of them throughout the series though. The above quote was one of his very first memorable lines. The whole thing seems like a silly throwaway line at first, but if you actually sit and think about it for a few minutes that first part makes a lot of sense. I am sitting here thinking about the past. It started out because I was thinking about how I really need to get back into the kind of shape I used to be in. When I could run my just under six minute mile and not even feel winded after five or six miles during my brief career in the Army. That was even after not really running at all for two and a half years. Before that all I really did was however long the teacher in gym class decreed we must all run, but I was always running circles around the rest of the class. For a while it was always me and a girl in class who were basically always at the front and lapping everyone else, but she moved away in high school. Shame really, I always enjoyed her company during the three years I actually knew her. But I digress. That led me to thinking about the people I met and interacted with while I was in the Army. I have not seen or heard from a single one of them after that ended. More my fault than any of theirs, I will be the first to admit. I was the one with all the addresses after all. Anyway, over the years I have occasionally tried to look up someone from those days here or there on Facebook or Twitter with little to no success. For people that made as much an impact on my life as some of them did, I feel that it was positively criminal for me to have not kept up, but here we are. That led me to thinking about my Arby's days. Again, there were a lot of fun people I met while I was there, and a lot of them have impacted my life. But as I sat here actually thinking about it this evening it occurred to me that the only real, lasting relationship/friendship I got out of the nine years I spent there was my Jeep. Lame, right? There are others that I have met along the way. My friend in San Francisco. My former Starbucks lady-friend from years and years ago who moved out of state. One I occasionally talk to and the other I actually managed to find on Facebook last winter. The latter I actually wanted to find. Something terrible happened and she was there for me in a way that I did not feel like anyone else was at the time. She spent her entire lunch break just sitting at a table in the cafe with me while I stared into the distance and tried to process the tragedy that had befallen my family the week before. I felt that I never properly thanked her, and that was one of the few regrets I have been carrying around with me, so I found her and rectified said situation. But Arby's co-workers? I tried to track down one of the older employees from those days last year. Found out she retired. I kept up with a few from my sister. Saw former Big-Boss at Five Guys one day about six months before I got married, but we didn't really talk. I see some people here and there in Kroger. I never say anything to them because we worked together so briefly that I would just be that random, vaguely familiar looking weirdo at Kroger. It really is amazing how much we can change over time. How much the people we associate with can impact us (if we let them). I know we all have friendships we have let fall by the side of the road. Some of them we regret, some of them we do not regret. I really need to find some other "old friends" and do some serious catching up. It should be easy in this modern day and age, and yet we do not bother ourselves for whatever reason. If there is regret about losing touch with someone, find them. Time is not as infinite as we may wish. Like Ford said...Time is an illusion.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Time. Flowing For Forever.
"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." - Ford Prefect
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books there are many memorable quotes from all of the major characters. Ford Prefect seems to have the majority of them throughout the series though.
The above quote was one of his very first memorable lines.
The whole thing seems like a silly throwaway line at first, but if you actually sit and think about it for a few minutes that first part makes a lot of sense.
I am sitting here thinking about the past. It started out because I was thinking about how I really need to get back into the kind of shape I used to be in. When I could run my just under six minute mile and not even feel winded after five or six miles during my brief career in the Army.
That was even after not really running at all for two and a half years. Before that all I really did was however long the teacher in gym class decreed we must all run, but I was always running circles around the rest of the class. For a while it was always me and a girl in class who were basically always at the front and lapping everyone else, but she moved away in high school. Shame really, I always enjoyed her company during the three years I actually knew her.
But I digress.
That led me to thinking about the people I met and interacted with while I was in the Army. I have not seen or heard from a single one of them after that ended. More my fault than any of theirs, I will be the first to admit. I was the one with all the addresses after all.
Anyway, over the years I have occasionally tried to look up someone from those days here or there on Facebook or Twitter with little to no success.
For people that made as much an impact on my life as some of them did, I feel that it was positively criminal for me to have not kept up, but here we are.
That led me to thinking about my Arby's days. Again, there were a lot of fun people I met while I was there, and a lot of them have impacted my life. But as I sat here actually thinking about it this evening it occurred to me that the only real, lasting relationship/friendship I got out of the nine years I spent there was my Jeep.
Lame, right?
There are others that I have met along the way. My friend in San Francisco. My former Starbucks lady-friend from years and years ago who moved out of state.
One I occasionally talk to and the other I actually managed to find on Facebook last winter.
The latter I actually wanted to find. Something terrible happened and she was there for me in a way that I did not feel like anyone else was at the time. She spent her entire lunch break just sitting at a table in the cafe with me while I stared into the distance and tried to process the tragedy that had befallen my family the week before. I felt that I never properly thanked her, and that was one of the few regrets I have been carrying around with me, so I found her and rectified said situation.
But Arby's co-workers? I tried to track down one of the older employees from those days last year. Found out she retired. I kept up with a few from my sister. Saw former Big-Boss at Five Guys one day about six months before I got married, but we didn't really talk.
I see some people here and there in Kroger. I never say anything to them because we worked together so briefly that I would just be that random, vaguely familiar looking weirdo at Kroger.
It really is amazing how much we can change over time. How much the people we associate with can impact us (if we let them). I know we all have friendships we have let fall by the side of the road. Some of them we regret, some of them we do not regret.
I really need to find some other "old friends" and do some serious catching up. It should be easy in this modern day and age, and yet we do not bother ourselves for whatever reason.
If there is regret about losing touch with someone, find them. Time is not as infinite as we may wish.
Like Ford said...Time is an illusion.
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books there are many memorable quotes from all of the major characters. Ford Prefect seems to have the majority of them throughout the series though.
The above quote was one of his very first memorable lines.
The whole thing seems like a silly throwaway line at first, but if you actually sit and think about it for a few minutes that first part makes a lot of sense.
I am sitting here thinking about the past. It started out because I was thinking about how I really need to get back into the kind of shape I used to be in. When I could run my just under six minute mile and not even feel winded after five or six miles during my brief career in the Army.
That was even after not really running at all for two and a half years. Before that all I really did was however long the teacher in gym class decreed we must all run, but I was always running circles around the rest of the class. For a while it was always me and a girl in class who were basically always at the front and lapping everyone else, but she moved away in high school. Shame really, I always enjoyed her company during the three years I actually knew her.
But I digress.
That led me to thinking about the people I met and interacted with while I was in the Army. I have not seen or heard from a single one of them after that ended. More my fault than any of theirs, I will be the first to admit. I was the one with all the addresses after all.
Anyway, over the years I have occasionally tried to look up someone from those days here or there on Facebook or Twitter with little to no success.
For people that made as much an impact on my life as some of them did, I feel that it was positively criminal for me to have not kept up, but here we are.
That led me to thinking about my Arby's days. Again, there were a lot of fun people I met while I was there, and a lot of them have impacted my life. But as I sat here actually thinking about it this evening it occurred to me that the only real, lasting relationship/friendship I got out of the nine years I spent there was my Jeep.
Lame, right?
There are others that I have met along the way. My friend in San Francisco. My former Starbucks lady-friend from years and years ago who moved out of state.
One I occasionally talk to and the other I actually managed to find on Facebook last winter.
The latter I actually wanted to find. Something terrible happened and she was there for me in a way that I did not feel like anyone else was at the time. She spent her entire lunch break just sitting at a table in the cafe with me while I stared into the distance and tried to process the tragedy that had befallen my family the week before. I felt that I never properly thanked her, and that was one of the few regrets I have been carrying around with me, so I found her and rectified said situation.
But Arby's co-workers? I tried to track down one of the older employees from those days last year. Found out she retired. I kept up with a few from my sister. Saw former Big-Boss at Five Guys one day about six months before I got married, but we didn't really talk.
I see some people here and there in Kroger. I never say anything to them because we worked together so briefly that I would just be that random, vaguely familiar looking weirdo at Kroger.
It really is amazing how much we can change over time. How much the people we associate with can impact us (if we let them). I know we all have friendships we have let fall by the side of the road. Some of them we regret, some of them we do not regret.
I really need to find some other "old friends" and do some serious catching up. It should be easy in this modern day and age, and yet we do not bother ourselves for whatever reason.
If there is regret about losing touch with someone, find them. Time is not as infinite as we may wish.
Like Ford said...Time is an illusion.
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