Reconnection-The Pattern

I don’t have a lot of connections to people who knew me prior to my life as a Television News Anchor. After high school and college my relationships somehow got misplaced with many of these people. It was not something I tried to do it just seemed to happen.

Facebook has opened a world to my past I never knew I missed. I’ve reconnected with many of you over this modern relationship rebuilder.

This past week two friends of mine from the past and I met at our home at Mt. Hood. David Schranz and I were great friends back in my high school/college days. He told me he was coming to Portland over the holidays and I invited he and his wife Rhonda up for a night at our home. Let me stop just for a second here. This is not something I normally do. Despite how I may come across I don’t just do stuff like that, but in this case I did.

Prior to our trip all sorts of barriers surfaced tempting us to cancel our trip to the mountain. I wanted to see David and Rhonda but “Life” was getting in the way. Kathy and I ignored “Life” and stuck to the plan and I can’t tell you how glad I am that we pushed through the crap.

I kept thinking to myself, God has a reason for this meeting and I was right.

David, Rhonda, Kathy and I talked for hours about life, God, the past and so on. David reminded me of a Rick Dancer I lost. He showed me who I was before my career and that can help me define myself now that that part of my life is over.

It was like a breath of fresh air. Here was a guy who remembers that I always asked hard, deep questions of my friends. I thought that was something I learned not something I simply “Was.”

David reminded me of moments I’d lost when new memories took their place. He reminded me of a guy I’ve lost touch with, myself.

My journey in life involves a little leaving, a little coming home, a little swimming, some soul searching and some shedding of who I think I am. It involves some grieving the losses of people, careers, races and my past.

Miranda Lambert has a song out right now that talks about you can’t go home. She sings of the house that built her. What she’s really speaking of is foundational moments that formed who she is. No, you can’t go back to what you were but you can’t hide from it either.

Life is about winning and losing. It’s about happiness, joy, peace and great sadness. For this man it takes a trip to the past to find the vacancy that occupies a part of my soul.

I’m so glad we didn’t allow “Life” to get in the way of living. I’m so glad my friends David and Rhonda became part of my life and the process of finding my past.

God, I really do appreciate all that you do for me. I thank you for bringing things back and burning things up. I can’t wait to see what you have planned in all of this.

1 Comment

• 
  jerry carlin January 1, 2011 at 5:15 am

  Rick, it is interesting how cancer will give one the opportunity to be reflective, to revisit that
  crooked road that led us straight to here. I am not sure it could have been any other road.
  This year just starting will continue this great adventure. It is not over yet and we have help all along the way.