A parable of cause and effect

I published this piece at the beginning of last year in another online journal of mine...

A co-worker of mine, Anwer, asked me to scan a picture for him. It was an old one, taken from his college days in engineering school. He said he was sending it to an old friend in the UK...a British schoolmate that had treated him very well during a time when Anwer was very poor. When they were young, this fast friend had taken Anwer sailing, they'd had great meals together, hung out at each other's flats, double dated...in short they were real chums. Upon graduation, Anwer left the UK, returned to Ethiopia and sent a card of thanks and well wishes to the home of British lad's father, since young people are notorious for not having a permanent address. But he never received a response. Anwer was sad but assumed that his friend had simply moved on with his life, as new graduates are wont to do.

Last week the British school chum, now a retired senior engineer, called my friend's home in California out of the blue...the chap had found an address and phone number for someone named Anwer on Altavista. But the web is a big place...the school chum wasn't sure if the Anwer listed was the very same one he knew at 21. He decided to take a chance and call the number...and on the very first try, he found the right man.

Why did the long lost schoolmate call after all those years? As it turned out the chap's father had recently died. Amongst his father's papers he discovered the unopened card of thanks sent by Anwer 37 years earlier. Upon finally reading it, the old chum was so touched by the gratitude expressed that he felt compelled to reach out over years (and continents) to find his Ethiopian friend, now an American citizen. Anwer was shocked and touched by the rekindled warmth of the old friendship lain dormant for nearly two decades. He said it made his whole year.

We have no idea what our actions will have in this present or in our or another's future.

The smallest of gestures create enough ripples to last a lifetime.

And here's an update...Anwer went for a worldwind visit to his friend's castle, just outside of London for two weeks this spring. Perhaps it's never too late to reclaim true friends.