Mission Possible

by Fr Bill

Mission Possible

It happens to all of us. We so find ourselves out of touch with friends who are important to us. There is no reason for the distance in our relationship. We just get busy and distracted and fail to keep in regular contact and then that chasm only grows wider with the passage of time. One of those special friends in my life died quite unexpectedly last week at the age of fifty-one. I truly considered our friendship a treasure, but it has been many years since I saw him last. I had made some attempts with a note or card over the years to set up a time to reconnect, but now I wish had been more determined and persistent in those efforts. When I was stunned by the news of his passing last week, I went looking for this little poem that I have tucked away. This is a reminder to not let the distance with people I care about extend to a point of no return when I must, we must then wait for a reunion in heaven.

Around the Corner

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 friends 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 am 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.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to reconnect during these waning weeks of summer with someone who is important in your life with whom you may have lost touch. You might bridge the inadvertent distance between the two of you by a note or phone call. Take this opportunity while you still have it! This column will NOT selfdestruct in five seconds. Keep it as a reminder!