I had a bit of a twenty-five year reunion tonight here in Charlotte, where I’m working for the next day or two. Remember how I tracked down some old friends last month when their high school reunion was held? One of those old friend was my buddy Doug Yoch, who happens to live in Charlotte now. I wrote him an email this morning letting him know I was in town and tonight we met up for dinner and drinks.
It had been twenty-five years since I’ve seen or spoken with Doug, a buddy from my Columbia, SC days. We used to be in school chorus together, we rode bikes around the neighborhood, and we used to tell wisecracks in the classrooms and gym. Out of the kids I went to middle school with Doug was probably my closest friend. We picked things up tonight like we’d only seen each other a few weeks ago – which surprised me. I’ve contacted friends that I hadn’t seen for years before and had absolutely nothing to say to them – I mean, its not at all unusual not to have anything in common with someone after two decades, right?
Doug hadn’t changed, though. He is still the same great guy he’s always been. Nowadays he runs a successful pharmacy business, Stanley Apothecary in Charlotte. He’s married with two daughters. Sounds like he’s enjoying life and having fun – pretty much all you can ask for an old friend.
We joked that we’ve got another 25 years to go before we meet again. Hopefully we’ll get together a bit more often.