Las Vegas days

What two posts in one day! Believe it. 

I lived in Las Vegas for 4 years between my 8th and 12th year and before moving to Tucson in 1990.  I had some close friends there, all of whom I have lost contact with... until this weekend!

Over the course of 48 hours, I reconnected (thanks to the magic of Facebook and blogging) with my two best Vegas friends (keep in mind that I haven't spoken with these guys in 20 years!). 

One friend, Mark L., went from the little league field where I saw him last... ...to just finishing up med school.  He has a lovely wife and beautiful daughter.  We used to collect baseball cards and swim in his backyard pool.  I had a crush on his older sister.  Older sisters have a special kind of mystique, don't they? Especially when you are 10 and they are 12.  Woo-woo!

Another friend, Charles M., who was my best best friend in 5th and 6th grade, and I connected because I did a seach on Google for his name (Chuck) and found his wife's blog.  We exchanged emails and then he called and we spoke for a half an hour about what we have been doing for the past 20 years.  The funny story here is that on vacation the year after we moved, we went to his old house and found it empty.  And that was it! I never saw him again.  Turns out, that he and his family had gone to California for the summer and moved back into a different house very nearby.  I just never knew it.  Chuck is now a police officer and business owner in Vegas, and has kids nearly the same age as mine. So cool.

It was fun to chat with Mark via Facebook, but really fun to actually talk to my old friend Chuck.  It just goes to show you that childhood friendships are the stuff of gold.  There is nothing more pure and enduring.  I feel like Chuck and I could get together and literally pick up where we left off 20 years ago... we might need a package of Black Cat fire crackers, but it would be easy easy.