Was It Something I Said?

Olivia was my best friend in kindergarten. She was my first close friend, a really sweet girl who was always fun to be with. I felt completely comfortable and safe with her, and there was never a harsh word or hurt feeling between us. But we were five years old and not the masters of our own lives. Circumstances separated us. Later we attended the same high school, but we didn’t reconnect. Although I thought of her with great affection, I was too shy and insecure to try to reintroduce myself into her life. From a distance she looked popular and happy, content with plenty of friends. It honestly never occured to me that she might remember me the same way I remembered her.

My taste in friends was excellent when I was five years old. It wasn’t always so good during my teenage years. I have sometimes thought that if Olivia and I had remained friends through all those years in school and beyond that my life would have been different (and probably better in a number of ways). It’s true, if things are different, they aren’t the same, but there is no way to go back to the beginning of the road and try a different route. In the meantime, life has been good to me, and here I am.

And, in the meantime, the Internet makes all kinds of things possible. Monday morning I opened my email and found a message from Olivia! A little while later we were on the phone, exchanging short biographies. She is married with grown children, and she has grandchildren, too. I’m impressed by the work she does. Her life is good, and she sounds happy. I felt that she is just as nice an adult as she was a child. Talking to her left me feeling really good.

Will we stay in touch? I hope so. I don’t pretend that we can take up where we left off. We’re in different places (geographically!) now, and we no longer have much shared history. But I’m very happy just to know that she’s still there, and I’d gladly endure a high school reunion just to give her a hug.

Il Postino: A young man gets a job delivering mail to Pablo Neruda, a famous poet who is living in exile near a small Italian village. The poet inspires the shy young man to develop himself socially, intellectually and politically. The film will seem romantic and poetic to some, slow and ultimately futile to others.

Rick Steves’ Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary: This has everything you need to say – and more! Of course, it has the obvious phrases regarding directions, hotel rooms, food, etc. It also has things you really need to say, but that aren’t found in standard phrase books. For example, in the “Taxi” section, you can quickly find out how to tell the driver, “If you don’t slow down, I will vomit!” There is just enough humor to keep you smiling without wasting your time, and succinctly hepful comments throughout. This is the phrase book to get for your next trip to Italy.