First, it was an unusual phone call from a relative who rarely calls. This was to advice me, of the death of a friend of many decades. He had died peacefully more than a month ago and immediately after the funeral, his wife had been taken away to the USA by their two sons who are American citizens.
This came as a total shock to me as I had been sending. WhatsApp messages to him during this period and was not surprised by his not responding as he rarely responded to messages unless specifically asked for one by me.
I am still to get over the sense of loss and the lack of proper information from his family about his death.
If that pushed me into melancholy, what followed two days later came as a very pleasant surprise and quickly changed my mood.
A friend called me up to say that she had met an old friend from my working days and mentioned a name that I simply could not remember. I requested her to send me the telephone number so that I could speak to him to place him in the proper framework.
When the phone number came it showed a DP that was vaguely familiar but, the current looks of the man could hardly be the same as it was more than three decades ago. I rang him up and straight away apologised for not being able to place him, blaming my advancing years and fading memory for the lapse. He was understanding and explained how and where we had met and what all happened due to that meeting and a few others.
That discussion took me back to a time when I was in the midst of some exciting corporate activities and took me on a nostalgia trip. Just the medicine needed perhaps to get over the melancholia that the earlier news had given me.
Then to top it all, my daughter in law’s weekly day off meant having lunch together with her and my son, an increasingly rare occurrence as, even on such off days, something or the other comes up and I either end up eating lunch alone or with my son as companion. The icing on the cake was some fantastic food followed by baclava and my favourite flavour of ice cream.
Three different kinds of days in one week with different outcomes to my mood. Rather unusual for me. Somewhat like a see-saw!
It’s highly unusual for you to be up and down like that but we all have our limits, don’t we?
There was an elderly lady who used to come to my church. She laughed easily and was regarded with affection. When she died, her daughter buried her before anybody even knew she was gone. I felt it rude to prevent the rest of us from saying our goodbyes so I think I understand why you were upset about it
Yes, I blogged because it was an unusual occurrence in my highly interconnected, thanks to Social Media, life. I have decided to write another blog, this time in lighter vain on the topic.
I think that was not a nice gesture at all, especially since you had been digitally communicating with the man in question. But also it seems the planets were aligning to give you some balance in pleasant interlude with others.
I’ve lost contact with a friend of mine, since of course I got sick over a year ago and then everyones “current stuff” – something jogged my memory the other day. The first email bounced back, so I’ve tried another that I happen to have. No reply but then she was never on to it with the digital world… And often she is away with either her tramping (hiking) or cycling friends, which possibly is the case now.
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It has been over a week now and the family has still not got in touch with me. I have decided to forget the whole issue.
My dear Ramana, I wouldn’t fret over “lack of communication” with your friend’s family. Who knows what happened. Things can go haywire through no one’s fault. Or, admittedly, through thoughtlessness/absentmindedness.
About three years ago the father of a close friend of mine died. I only found out two months later – by accident, via a third party. To understand, my friend and I live in different countries and our contact is infrequent. So I called him to express my sincere condolences. They were sincere since I’d known his father from my teenage years and was very fond of him. So why hadn’t I been told?
Guess what: Now it becomes surreal. So, I am upset that I wasn’t informed. My friend? He was upset that he hadn’t heard from me because he’d sent me, both per snail mail and per email, notification and and the obituary. None of which I had received. Great, isn’t it. Let’s leave aside that he used the wrong email address and that my postal address is rather confusing for the one delivering it. Worst? Worst that he didn’t believe me. Now that, unfortunately, did put somewhat of a dent in our friendship. I may be many things but I am not a liar. Anyway, what would I have gained from not acknowledging his father’s death in timely fashion? So, Ramana, do your meditative best, let the thought arise, let it pass. Breathe in, breathe out. Which would work better if both parties did so.
If all else fails hit a cushion.
Still, your week ended on a high!
As ever, all the best, and greetings to the resident geeks who look after you,
Ursula
Yes, Ursula, I shall follow your instructions to the T and henceforth not get depressed. Thank you for taking the pains to comment.
Condolences. I am so sorry for your loss. What a sad incident.
The strange part Maria is that I am still to hear from his family!
I am glad that you were able to recover fast from the period of melancholy. Life keeps throwing us curve balls or lemons and we need to shorten the period of hitting them out of the park or making lemonade. Keep smiling and keep up the good spirits 🤠.
As you well know Sandeep, it does not take me too long to get back to my normal self! Thank you.