Taking The Time

If there is one thing that stands out, above all others, of the things I have learned while living in the city is that people come and people go.  This is most assuredly true when  it comes to apartment living.

Some people choose to live in an apartment for many years.  Then there are the ones who stay for a year or so, finally seeing their dreams come to fruition and purchase a home of their own.  There are people who stay for a month or two and leave in the middle of the night, never to be seen again.  Even though their lifestyle is so very different from my own, all these people have a story to tell.

We fell into the category of  'those who leave in the middle of the night' when we left the Atlanta area, but there are many times I think about the young boy I met there.  He was only about 11 years old and spent most of his time alone, entertaining himself.  He knew we were leaving and expressed sadness when I told him.  How I wish I had taken the time to jot down his address.  

A recent new acquaintance, a man with two small reddish brown dogs was such a joy.  He was well versed in the history and archaeology of Egypt, one of my favorite subjects.  We planned to get together some day so I could listen to all he had to share on that topic.  A few days ago, I noticed I had not seen him or the dogs in awhile.  Later I found out he was gone, a new opportunity had presented itself to him in the great state of Texas.  I certainly wished I had taken the time to make a date with him for coffee and tea and talk.

Once, I had a person contact me after I had written about my strange UFO sighting, another one of my favorite things.  This person wanted to share what they had seen, years ago, along with pictures and other notes taken at the time.  I put that meeting off and now the opportunity is lost for this life time because the person has passed. 

Surely we all have similar stories of missed chances.  It is probably not feasible to be able to keep track of, or in contact with, everyone who crosses our path in life.  Hopefully though, the next time I can learn some wonderful nuggets from someone else's life, I take the time to do it.