Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven’t time, and to see takes time – like to have a friend takes time. — Georgia O’Keefe
How do you define the term ‘friend’ in these days of social media? It seems as though the word has many levels of meaning today. I would expect that most of the people who will read this will be friends of mine, in one context or another. However, it is equally likely that they are more accurately described by the word “acquaintance”. One difference between the two groups will likely be in the length of time we have known each other. Some of you I will have known a long time, others a few years or months or even weeks or days. Another distinction would be how involved we are or were in each other’s normal lives. Perhaps you were a student in a class I taught, or a co-worker, or an employee. Maybe ours was a connection in which we knew each other from some other first meeting, and it grew into something larger. It may be that it was a brief encounter or a professional working scenario, one that was important to me, and also perhaps to you, and so we have stayed in touch.
My decision to begin this section of the site stems from a desire, expressed in an earlier post, to acknowledge and to thank those of you who have been most important to me over the years. I suspect though, as I write about those who have been or who remain closest to me I will be inspired to write about others as well, some who may best fit the second category. I will identify them as one or the other.