24/09/2007 by Steve.

Bumping into an old aquaintance is one of those little moments in life which could be considered priceless. Such an event can never be planned so the surprise itself is significant. However the ripples from such a meeting could extend far beyond the moment itself.

This thought is on my mind because on Saturday I met an old colleague from my very first job. I probably haven’t seen him for 20 years or more. He recognised me through a shop window. At first I just saw some strange old bloke waving at me from the outside (my mind was elsewhere, lusting after an array of unaffordable equipment in the music shop). My first thought was ‘Who’s that nutter?’. But then that wave of recognition crashed over me and he no longer looked old - he looked exactly the same as I remembered him when we were both 20.

I went outside, we greeted each other and quickly talked through old and current times.
‘I saw Dave from ‘Security’ at a reunion 10 years ago’, he said.
‘I still see Jerry about twice a year’, I added.
Etc etc.

We compared family - mine was actually there, complete - the second-wife and two semi grown-up kids (we couldn’t have imagined a posse like that back then!) His wife is the same girl who I had known as just his girlfriend - they have been married now for 21 years! And they have two kids of the same age as our two….

A similar event occurred a couple of weeks ago when Vanessa met an old colleague in a shop. He came rushing round the end of an aisle and they both immediately recognised each other. Same old Michael, he was, always a story to tell, camp as ever and resisting 40 with a vengeance. It was like they had been working together just last week.

And after your chance meeting? You swap numbers and emails. You even get in touch and go out for a drink. But where does it go from there? Maybe it depends on who you meet, and when…

I think most people would enjoy bumping into an old flame. The spotty-faced youth that she remembers will have turned into a successful and wordly adult- a potential chance to impress not to be missed. Unless you are out with your wife at the time, of course!

Conversely, if you are unfortunate enough to have a ‘previous’ spouse out there somewhere, what would you do if their face presented itself to you out of the blue? It would be embarrassing enough if you were on your own but imagine if your current wife was with you!!! Would Wife 1 still pass as good-looking enough for your current standards? Has she aged well? And while Wife 2 might like to get to know Wife 1 better (for the purposes of comparison on ALL levels) you would probably rather curl up and die.

And finally, some people meet accidentally under some very unlikely circumstances. You occasionally hear stories of people walking down a street on the other side of the world and recognising an old neighbour. Given the billions of people in the world and the miles between them, it’s amazing that it happens at all!

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19/09/2007 by admin.

Hi everyone! Yes this is the first entry in what could become a regular online chat corner for the Usual’s and all of their readers! Yes it is what is called a Blog and at last, instead of just reading about them, you can actually contribute to one and become part of the 21st century.

Now the Usual Suspects have been good friends for a long time, but they have wide and varied interests outside of the group and work in many different industries and environments. So there is plenty to share - write what you like and let the other Usuals comment or add their own blog entry. And expect comments from those unfortunate individuals that we call friends but who are not part of the Usual Suspects - they’re welcome to comment too of course.

So….intro over. I now hand it over to you to see what you’ve got to say!!

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