Last Tango In Halifax

     Last Tango In Halifax is a familiar tale and well worth a Netflix binge. The story was created by Sally Wainwright and it appears she knows a thing or two about teenage crushes. The Plot: "At age 16, Alan's late wife failed to pass on a letter from Celia, his longtime crush, with an apology for missing their first date and her forwarding address." The series begins fifty years later upon a chance meeting between Alan and Celia in a restaurant. Wonderfully funny and complicated stories ensue. Check it out.

     I mention this BBC series because it reminds me of all the things classmates say, or don't say, to one another. Some words were no doubtful meant to be hurtful when they were uttered and others went unsaid. Both hurt in different ways.

     It reminds me of a shoulder I separated at the Jersey Shore in 1976. I popped it back in place and have felt its glow ever since, especially on rainy days or when the weather temperature changes radically. Kinda like the people from High School, they appear in our lives at reunions and some reproduce old agonies like I feel in my shoulder if I raise my arm too fast. Given a little rest the pain goes away and likewise, the sights of old classmates fade pretty quickly after a reunion, too.

     What has amazed me after working on two reunions is the number of people who currently live in Ridgewood but don't attend. What sorts of hurts must they be feeling to want to avoid those of us making an infrequent visit to their hometown? This is not a criticism. We all process grief/pain in our own ways and in our own times. Maybe after fifty years they will have forgotten or forgiven whatever occurred. Time has this wonderful capacity to make old facts seem less important and for making us remember that each of us is the sum of everything we have done, not just the hurtful moments or those moments left unsaid so long ago.