Seven Degrees Left of Center

The Forgotten Friend and Missed Opportunity

I ran into an old friend last night. Someone I haven't seen or thought about since the stroke and tumor took away the neural pathways of memory.

It scared him a bit because the instant I started speaking, I did not recognize him. I could not pull up his name. Yet, I knew he was someone I should know. That confusion was too much for him, and the meeting became short.

I don't blame him for being set back. As usual, 15 minutes later, I started remembering how we knew each other. In fact, we had worked together for several years. I hope he wasn't insulted. Though, I could tell he didn't understand why I couldn't remember.

My wife tried to explain that I had memory loss. He then seemed more nervous, and the encounter shortened to a short minute. The encounter caught him off guard. If we run into each other again, I hope for a better exchange and experience.