Digging up bones

You know it's bound to happen in this era of easy access to information. I'm sure we've all done it a time or two. Some may have had a good experience, some may have found only disappointment. I'm talking about looking up old girlfriends (or if you're a woman, old boyfriends) on the internet.

It's just too easy, too tempting to let sleeping dogs lie. Especially if there lies decades between you and the last time you saw that certain person. Just Google the name, find them on FaceBook, read their thoughts as delivered through Twitter. There are just so many ways to drag the past right into the present. That's the world we live in today; technology reigns supreme, grants us the tools to make it possible.

I've searched for a few--three, to be exact. Here's what I've learned: Age does terrible things to a cute girl. Some people just don't age gracefully. But maybe that has more to do with expectations than anything else. What I mean by that is, the last time I saw these particular girls Ronald Reagan occupied the White House, Miami Vice dominated the TV ratings, and big hair ruled the club scene.

One girl, the first serious relationship I'd ever entered, was all of 16 the last I saw her. That's the face I kept in my mind's eye all these years. To see photos of her suddenly at age 45--YOWZA! Quite the shock.

My high school sweetheart did a little better in the looks department. I'd last set eyes on her when she was 19 years old. She's 44 these days and remains cute. I can still see the girl in her face.

Then there's the girl I'd lived with while residing in Florida. She, I must admit, fared quite nicely. This girl aged with grace and beauty, which I wouldn't have guessed for this particular young woman. She'd been just too wild, drinking and drugging, sleeping around. Her current photos show wisdom and lessons learned. Bravo for her!

Then there's me. How would I appear to these same woman after 25 years or longer? Would this face stuck to the front of my head shock them? I'm guessing the same shock I felt in viewing their pictures is the same they'd feel gawking at my ugly mug. Age just does things to the human body that we might never recognize if we'd been with them day after day.

So why write this blog post? Because there's a story here. It might be a short story or an essay or maybe even a novel. It's real life. Country singer Garth Brooks even sang a song about this very subject called "Unanswered Prayers."

Those of us of a certain age, we've all pondered that long-ago love, the one who saw us at our youngest and wildest. What do they look like now?

Ponder that thought, then write about it. You might surprise yourself with a great read.