Moving On and Looking Back

Too much time has been spent on reaching the next station. But I like to sit on the rear-facing seats because the present receding into the distance is an awfully tragic sight. Every once in a while, the echoes of the past catches up to me, and I love to listen. Now my childhood and teenage friends have grown up; now my cousins are married with children. Now I keep speeding along on this train; "now" is only a blur in the periphery. I've wondered about them...those I haven't heard from in a long time. Maybe they are lost in the life aboard their own racing trains; maybe they are just lost in life. By and by I forget about them...am I selfish for doing so? Now and again an IM pops up--or the cell rings--unexpectedly and lets me know that they are ok, that they are doing great, in fact. I love moments like that, to know that my friends are ok, that my negligence has done no great damage to us. The cousin that the family worried about so much is sought after by a company; the friend that I used to spend everyday of an entire summer with is playing on the senior PGA tour. Where did they go since the last time I saw them? Why did they come back to me? Were they also looking for me and gave up like I did after a while? Doesn't matter, I'm just glad that I chose these seats, though the train keeps racing.