Keep in touch

I got an email Tuesday. A college friend of mine died Monday of a heart attack. His birthday is on the 27th of this month, exactly two weeks after my own. He too would have been 45.

The email came with dozens of cc’s to other friends and college classmates, many of whom I haven’t seen or spoken with in some cases, for more than 20 years. Ironically, one of them, with whom I do stay in touch, was himself featured in the January issue of Black Enterprise magazine. In a story on health issues, he revealed how his high blood pressure very nearly killed him. A chance medical examination caught it just in time. As well as I know him, I never knew his situation had been so serious. He is also 45.

All day and into the evening, our network of friends posted replies to the original message to share our grief, and in a strange way reconnect with one another. They always say you should never wait until something bad happens before you have a reunion. We may have waited too long in this instance but I hope we now make up for the lost time.