Dear Charlie,
When I was a kid, I used to go to summer camp. I made a lot of friends that way, and have kept in touch with some of them over the years. Recently I went into a coffee shop and the guy working there looked familiar. I couldn’t place where I had seen him before until it hit me. He was one of my good childhood friends from summer camp. We had a lot of fun together and I have good memories of him. I was so surprised to see him again so I asked him if he remembered me. He did, but he was unfazed by my sentiments. In fact, he was sort of a jerk about it. He clearly didn’t want to talk to me or reminisce about the past. He wasn’t very friendly or nice about it at all. He was actually very rude. He sarcastically said "Yep, cool". He changed so much from the boy I used to know. I just don’t understand. Call me lame but it hurt my feelings.
-Forgotten Old Friend
Dear Forgotten Old Friend,
Not exactly the reaction you had expected? When something like this happens, it makes you sorry you said anything in the first place. I would regret it too. I feel the same way when I compliment someone’s cute dog or baby on the street, and they are bothered by it. It makes me want to retort something back along the lines of; “well screw you b*tch, I was just being nice.” It’s flattery for f*ck’s sake. Some people have their heads shoved so far up their own asses, that they can’t see the forest through the trees. In your case, you had a history with this guy and he was more than just a random face on the street. He used to be your friend (emphasis on the word “USED” to be). It appears that Mr. Coffee maker is too cool for school any more. Maybe he has issues, is on drugs, or is depressed. Who knows what kind of cards life has dealt him, or how he has handled them? You sure as Hell don’t. I’m painting a really dark picture of the possibilities behind his story, but a lot of time has passed and it's safe to say you don't know him anymore. He has shown you that the child version of him really has little to do with the adult version. There were probably many influences along the way which brought him to this point. Don’t let it get you down, just feel sorry for him that he doesn’t have the capacity to be civil or polite. If he wants to be victim to modern trends that say it’s cool to be selfish and not give a sh*t, then that’s his problem. I don’t know, I think people are not always the way we remember them. Hold on to the happy memories, and be sorry for him that he can't appreciate a warm greeting from an old friend. That's entirely immature. Be glad that people mean something to you. I’m sorry to say but many people don’t mature socially passed a certain age. The truth is that he is a practical stranger now and he was not very nice. That’s a damn shame. Despite the kind of time you had together as kids, leave the past in the past. Forgotten Old Friend, there is nothing lame about you wanting a friend from the past to acknowledge you and remember the precious time you spent as kids together. Some would call those the golden years. Life takes a toll on some people and even causes them to want to write the past off. The movie "Mystic River" is a good example of life changing a childhood companionship. I also refer you to the movie “The Butterfly Effect” to help me explain my point. In the movie, Amy Smart plays Ashton Kutcher’s love interest. Ashton’s character is able to visit Amy in the future, based on different outcomes of a life altering event. In one version, the life altering event was stopped from happening and so Amy develops into a very successful, sheltered, and well rounded young woman. As an adult, he finds her in a good mental state and overall healthy. Next time he visits her in the future to find a completely different girl. She has been so beaten down by life, that she is so jaded and srung out, she breaks his heart. Sometimes, the people we once knew only exist anymore in our memories. Be glad that your heart is still warm and light, and that you didn't turn out like this.
