I received an e-mail from my past two days ago...actually, it was on the "great-big-hippie-day". A friend of mine whom I hadn't seen nor spoken to in 25 years e-mailed me out of the blue. It was a shock, but such a wonderful experience. Steve was my best friend in junior high and high school. He was a cartoonist like myself, and a Monty Python fan. As kids, we spent hours doing comic strips about our classmates, and quoting whole MP sketches to each other (which is where I became fascinated with imitating a British accent).

Steve was a good kid...I was a preacher's kid. As far as I know, he never did drugs or drank...I'm trying to remember if I ever recall him swearing. But he was hilarious, no one could make me laugh as hard as he. We drifted apart as high school came to a close, because I had moved out on my own, and most of that time is lost in a haze of mind-numbing parties. We played on a softball league together after graduating, and I went to visit him shortly after I had gotten saved. That's the last I had seen him, or talked to him.

I've thought about him a lot. I looked all over the internet for him, even resorted to e-mailing every address that contained his name in it...but to no avail. I went to my 20 year reunion back in '99 hoping I may see him there, but no dice.

Then, two days ago, he finds me.

I wrote him back right away. What stirred me even more, was that he really did remember me. The thought had crossed my mind that over the years, I had been lost in the clutter of younger years, and he didn't remember.

But there was an e-mail, right in my inbox, that told me differently.

So now I'm waiting on a response. He appeared, then disappeared just like that. Showed up just long enough to let me know he was still there, and that he remembered me. And now I wait, and just trust he'll get back with me when the time is right.

The whole thing is familiar somehow.