Tuesday, November 01, 2005

a reflection

There are certain times in my life where thoughts and ideas come together from different directions and crystallize to bring me to a sort of heightened awareness of their contents. It's just another one of those syzygys that happen every once in a while.

Today, three things happened. The sister of one of my mom's teaching associates committed suicide, so we are watching her kids while she goes to help her family. The son of my boss's visiting teachee died suddenly in his sleep from congestive heart failure, and I am typing up his funeral program. And I got an email from an old friend.

It's always sad when someone dies unexpectedly, and I can't help but feel a little down even though I don't even even know these people, but the email from my friend made me value life even more, because it included this poem:

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friend's face.
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine, but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow," I say, "I will call on Jim,"
"Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
Here's a telegram sir, "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

So I just wanted you all to know that I am thinking of you, and thanks for being my friends.

8 comments:

Annegirl said...

Make time for what's important, huh? Thanks, Meags.

Adriane said...

Man. I love you guys!

Jon said...

Are you sure that's how "syzygys" is spelled?

Adriane said...

Jon Harmon. Is that really all you can say to this blog? Goodness gracious!

Erika said...

muah

Maria said...

So there was this one time when I had three amazing roommates from a "not so amazing" state and they taught me lots of stuff...

And then one day, I was listening to Stake Conference and one of the speakers said something amazing (which of course is understandable considering it was STAKE CONFERENCE)... the person said, "You do not need to marry a person to have an eternal relationship with them."

I liked it lots. And I hope that we will remain friends (do you still consider me one?) for eternity even though I am positive that none of us will have maritial relations?

that was really long, sorry. ;)

Jon said...

Heh heh . . .
No, Adriane, I guess not. As of now, three people that I went to elementary, junior high, and high school with have died. I knew all of them from when we were little kids. One of them died from an eating disorder. Her, particularly, I wished so much I could have gone back and told how much she meant to me and how I considered her a friend even when we drifted apart. There are so many things people are dealing with that we never see. I never knew what she was going through. I missed every opportunity I had to make a positive difference in her life.

You're right, Meagan, regret is tragic when someone leaves like that unexpectedly, so best to take advantage of what you have now.

Adriane said...

Yes Maria! Of course you are still a friend! I love you!