The Mad and Mysterious World of the Memory

I have been once again reflecting on past friendships, which seems to be an annual occurrence in my life.  This reflection will usually last a week, and I think this year's reflection began today.  I was nostalgic, missing friends who live hundreds of miles away.  After a bit of wallowing in nostalgia, it was time for my evening walk.  Somewhere along my 3 mile route, I tripped over a rock.  This trip tripped an old memory.  It was over 20 years ago, when I was a teenager.  I was talking with a friend about how often people said, "dude."  My friend told me about a time when she went to the beach with a bunch of friends, and when one friend fell and began rolling end over end on a sand dune, she kept saying, "Dude, dude.  My back.  Dude."  I suppose this old memory suddenly popped into my head because I said, "dude!" when I tripped.  It was a reminder of how amazing and complex our brains are.  It also made me hope that that girl's back is fine.  It also reminded me what a blessing it is to have friends, especially to have friends that you knew 20 years ago.