People Come, People Go...

Do you ever find yourself wondering "whatever happened to" some person from your past; someone who perhaps was significant in your world and who then quietly faded away... or vanished suddenly?

Sailing home at sunset...

Maybe such thinking is a bi-product of aging; maybe it's something we all experience, particularly those of us who have lived a somewhat "wandering" existence.

I was the supermarket today... and while choosing some large mushrooms to be stuffed, I noticed a young woman next to, who was a "dead ringer" for a young woman I knew at University.

I smiled quietly to myself as I wondered whatever happened to Selma, and smiled wryly — a second time — at the face that in 1982 Selma really stood out in a crowd, on account of her multitude of tattoos and pink streaks in her hair, while the woman next to me looked like pretty much any 20-something in 2025.

Somehow, I felt old.

As I drove home in the late afternoon sun, I contemplated the incongruity of the fact that I actually have pretty much no idea where my exes (I have two) are, nor what they are doing. Meanwhile, I have strangely vibrant and clear memories of people who "went away," and we somehow never quiet had closure... or even a goodbye.

Maybe we're all different, in terms of how we related to the people in our lives; the people who have crossed our paths. "Open ends" trouble me, on some level... like a book or story you read, but you misplace and lose the book forever before you get to read the final chapter.

And so, you are left wondering. Not necessarily to the extent that it eats away at your soul, but enough that you periodically pause and wonder, once more.

Some people really do vanish. Or they do an outstanding job of leaving absolutely no digital fingerprint.

Then there are those who simply "come and go," much like comets in the sky... except they are traveling in an "erratic orbit."

You feel an intense closeness for weeks or months... and then they suddenly vanish without a word (or a trace) only to reappear months or years later. In some magical circumstances, you sometimes pick up the conversation where it left off... like it were yesterday.

I had a relationship like that with my cousin Lise, going back all the way to when we were teenagers. We were... in a way... closer than lovers when we were "on," which could last for weeks or months, and then she'd suddenly vanish, often into a cloud of depression, drugs and mental illness... only to suddenly reappear, the following year, or years later.

It never took us more than about 5 minutes to reconnect.

Sadly, she took her own life, about five years ago. I miss her...

In the modern day and age, the coming and going is — as often as not — happening in the realm of the online world, often with people I have never even met, face-to-face.

Mostly, I think, we're just a strange group of introverts who connect with each other intensely and deeply, and then we hit "maximum density" and back away to.. clear our heads? I don't know.

Strange, isn't it, how we can sometimes "know" someone halfway around the world, and know them better than we know members of our own families? I suppose it depends on who you are, and your individual personality... but sometimes it is easier to let your guard down with someone you know you'll likely never share physical space with.

And yet? Such connections can also be extremely healing, as we sort through the mess that is our minds and our experiences.

Sometimes the "missing them" is very deep and even sharp.

And all we can do is say — perhaps only to ourselves — "I miss you; I'll still be here when you decide to swing back through."

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about you? Do you ever finding yourself thinking about the lives of people from your past? People you miss? Connections you missed, somehow? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2025.06.23 19:40 PDT
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