A New Friend

After a morning meeting, I decided to visit the new bagel shop in town for a cup of coffee. They had those coffee dispensers and it was self serve so I helped myself to a cup of their regular brew and went and sat down. It was kind of slow when I went in so I started talking to one of the owners (or at least, one of the family that owns it). He was a guy about 67 and he said this was something he did to help the family (I think his nephew was the owner) but you could tell he also enjoyed it. He was originally from Long Island and had just settled here in Sanford (NC).
We talked for a few minutes and then he had to wait on another customer. I noticed a guy come in with a Dell t-shirt on and I was interested in whether he was working for them or not. He unloaded his briefcase and a newspaper at a table and went to the counter to order. I could tell he was familiar with how to order bagels so I thought he must have been from up north or south Florida. He ordered an "everything" bagel with lox and cream cheese with tomato and red onions. Had to be a New York connection!
Well, to make a long story short, we struck up a conversation. I was partly right. He was originally from Brooklyn but now lived in Jacksonville, FL and he worked for Dell. But the amazing thing is that as we talked, even with the diversity of our background, we had so much in common. We talked for the better part of two hours about so many topics and I found him to be well read and with a highly developed ability to think. That isn't something easy to find!
If we lived closer,we would probably spend time just talking about current affairs and how what is happening in the world around us will affect us in the weeks and months ahead. I hope we will be able to strike up a friendship via e-mail.
Anyway, the thing is, when we are open to others, its impossible to tell when we might be surprised by the people we encounter. Over the years, so many friends have come and gone. Some literally aren't here anymore but many others have moved to other areas, become involved with other things or maybe we have just not made the effort to maintain our friendships. This morning's encounter with a stranger has reminded me of the importance of making and keeping friends. Time is short and true friends are hard to find and harder to keep!