Last week one of my childhood friends Dad died. He was one of my hero’s while growing up. Always friendly. Always smiling. Always encouraging.
When we were kids he took my friend and I to a beautiful beach in Ireland called Brittas Bay. I remember enjoying very happy carefree days with my friend there, rolling down sand dunes and splashing in the sea. Then taking a break for some sandwiches and tea. On those rare enough warm days in the Irish summer this is where this very kind hearted man and his wife would bring us.
The last time I met this man was when I was just after a long cycle in the Wicklow and Dublin hills last summer. He hardly recognised me in all my cycling gear! As we chatted he told me how much he missed cycling – that feeling of whizzing through the air and seeing the ground fly beneath you! (He cycled up until  very recently – he was in his late 80′s when he died last week) In the conversation he reminded me of how lucky I was to be able to enjoy the wonderful experience of cycling.
His wife too was another great person, another hero in my childhood book of heros. She passed away a couple of years ago and I feel she was sadly missed by her husband. I have written about her before and how inspirational she was – see “Keep Moving Forward”
Last weekend my friend who now lives in Chicago with his family returned for his Dad’s funeral. We got together again with many other childhood friends for the afternoon and in a nutshell we had a great laugh. A great laugh about stories from our childhood while learning about life. A great laugh connecting with each other as if we were “the lads” again. A great laugh, laughing about our ages now, pretty much all close enough to 50. It was simply a great laugh to be with great old friends whom I rarely see anymore. The best of friends.
Isen’t it time we all connected more with our great old friends.
I received this short video today, called “Around the Corner” and I have to say it puts this message across very strongly.
Enjoy, Sean
Around The Corner from Sahel Takal on Vimeo.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Sean..Ironically over the past year, I have begun searching and finding friends from my past..going back decades. WIth social media, etc, I was able to find them despite name changes. I became a detective…with this urgent need to find them and tell them what they meant to me at that part of the journey of my life and that I don’t want to lose them.
Something deep inside me called me to do this…there is amazing sense of completion…a circle united…love, forgiveness and sharing.
People come in and out of our lives, but they and you become an important memory of the chapters of your life. We never know when we will be called, but for me I wanted anyone who I loved (Including old flames who in many cases did not end well..usually I was dumped LOL) but it didn’t matter for those I let them know that at that part of my life and learning what love was…I was grateful they had been in my life. My Southern Daddy use to say, “at the end of your life, if you can count on one hand 5 people who were your true friends, you are lucky”….and so my journey comes to this…I made a pledge to myself to honor those who were there over they decades and let them know…I want to be one of those 5 for them. Thank you for your beautiful blog and video. Linda
Great words of wisdom and great short film the message is very clear . Make time for each other.
Hi Isabelle,
Absolutely – make time for each other!
Thanks for your comments
Sean
Hi Linda
Great comments, thanks for sharing your wisdom and experiences.
Carpe Diem!
Sean
Hi Sean,
Thanks for posting our short film here.
Very good post this one, keep it up.
I am now going to follow this blog.
Cheers
Pedro / DoP on Around the Corner
Hi Pedro
It’s an excellent quality movie with a great message Pedro, I congratulate you for such a production.
Keep it going!
Sean
Good wisdom here, Sean and very moving. Blessings on you. Put things into perspective always!
Cheers Robert, thanks for taking the time to comment.