WHERE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE GONE...?

Long time passing...

 

It's strange, but when no great changes have taken place in your own life, you tend to subconsciously assume that none will have occurred in the lives of anybody else you know - unless, that is, you've been specifically informed to the contrary.  To me, who's never moved away from my home town, I'm always surprised to learn that some people emigrated abroad or flitted to other parts of the country decades ago, as I just assume they're still around - even if I haven't seen them in some time.  I may think it's been months since I last saw them, then find out it's been years.  In fact, some of them moved to pastures new a whole other century ago.

I just learnt tonight that someone who didn't live too far from me in my previous house (and was also in my primary school class) has lived  in Sweden for a very long time, which I suppose is probably around 20 to 30 years - maybe more.  Steven Ferguson is his name, and the last time I can recall seeing him was back in the late '70s.  If I ever saw him after that, I just don't remember.  There are others, too, who I only discovered had left the town they grew up in decades after the fact, and it's an odd feeling to think that people you thought were 'still out there' somewhere not too far distant, now live on the other side of the country or the world.  Either way, I'm unlikely to bump into them any time soon.

I suppose there are still plenty of people I used to know who yet gad about the local environs, but it's strange to consider that others, who were once so familiar to me, are unlikely to revisit the town they grew up in, and that I'll never see them again between now and Doomsday.  And then there are those who have died.  Covid-19 has already claimed one former neighbour and classmate, and I just learned today that one of my friends has tested positive, so obviously I'm hoping that he comes through it okay.  Although it wouldn't have occurred to me when I was younger, I think a lot of people regard those they knew in their youth as kind of an 'extended family', and when they're no longer around either in body or in spirit, we feel 'diminished' to some degree.

I'm not really one for reunions, but sometimes I think I wouldn't mind attending one that brought together everyone I knew from the age of, say, 5 to - I dunno - 30, just to see them one more time and relive old times.  The faint and indecisive attraction of such a prospect fades, however, when I think of all those who have departed this verdant sphere and would be unable to attend - except perhaps in spirit.  I'm not sure it would be the same unless everyone was there.

Stirred any thoughts, fellow Crivvies?  Is there anyone you've not seen in years who you wouldn't mind catching up with for at least one more chin-wag?  If so, feel free to express yourself in the comments section.    

Posted in: Cartoons