I am filled with emotion tonight and memories. I just had dinner with Bruce Westlund, my best friend from 5th grade until I was about thirty. Then we lost track of each other until yesterday, when I contacted him through his brother. I found a reference for his brother Paul on the Internet.
When I was 10 I went to Bruce’s house and said “Do you want to shoot some hoops?”
He was a year older then me at our church and we had only said Hi, a couple of times before that. We played basketball together, and became best friends. I went to a college because he was already there, we were roommates, and we quit college together. Then we joined the Army together. We separated in the Army, when he went to Vietnam and I was stationed in Korea. I got out before him, and got married. He lived with us, for a short time, while he was getting his feet back on the ground from having his head messed up by drugs & Vietnam.
The last time I saw him was in 1982. We had lunch at an Airport in New York City.
Caren, and I were flying back from the Middle East. He was working in New York for Federal Express.
We lost track of each other until tonight. We did a lot of talking to catch up the 25 years we had both lived since then. He is living here in Eugene, with his wife Jean, and near his brother and his family in Eugene.
When we both saw, each other we both started laughing, and I stated the obvious. It looked like we were each wearing “old guy masks.” It took a couple of hours to adjust to the old guy in Bruce’s body, and I am sure it was the same for him.
We laughed, we shared some disappointments in our life and some struggles. He has in-laws near us in San Diego, so we talked about being able to see each other again in a year or so.
What a treat to have such a long time friend who still cares for me and I for him.
I suggested we split the dinner check in case it is another 25 years we won’t remember who owes, whom, a dinner. (grin)
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