Assist to the Reader

Man, I love my readers.

Those of you who have been stopping by for a while may remember a post of mine from back in November of 2009.  It was about how I didn't have really have time to spend on Facebook. 

I also mentioned in that post, the only reason I created a Facebook account was because I wanted to see if I could find and connect with a long lost friend.  A friend I hadn't seen or talked to in over 35 years. This boy, or man now, was my best friend from kindergarten and first grade before his family moved away from my rural small town in Washington state for somewhere in Oregon.  For the longest time, I was pretty bummed about losing my best friend.  Unfortunately, I never heard from him again.

I remembered his name, but didn't know how it was spelled. So I created an account and searched for him.  I tried several different spellings, but each time had no luck.  After a while searching I gave up for the night and never did make it back to try again.  Of course the whole episode made it into my 2009 post about Facebook as a side note.

Then, a couple of days ago I received an email from a reader named Heather.  She explained that she was reading through my archives, read about my search for my long lost friend and wondered if I had ever found him.  After I responded that I hadn't she sent this follow up email:

I’d hate for this to sound creepy, since I don’t have any creepy intentions whatsoever. I just love (and have a knack for) finding things/people, etc.….. Anyway - I think I found him (Yes. I know this is totally random and weird)?

Try googling (His Name -alt spelling) (My hometown). I hope this is your guy, because how much fun would that be?
 
So I did.  And sure enough after a few clicks I had a strong suspicion that this was in fact my friend from elementary school. 

How did I not think of that myself?  How obvious should that have been to me?  All I can say in my own defense is that I obviously have a very short attention span and after my short stint of searching, life once again drew my attention elsewhere.

After typing the alternate spelling of his name, which he had changed since grade school, into Facebook and finding him, I send him a message asking if he had attended my school back in the 70's.

I received his response Thursday afternoon, and a confirmation of my friend request.  He was indeed my best friend from kindergarten and first grade.  He has spent time in Japan, and currently resides in London.  Looking at his picture, I can still see the same kid I knew all those years ago.  It'll be good to catch up with the man he has become.

The world once again became a bit smaller today.  Assist, and thanks to Heather, one of your ranks.  The readers I love.