To what do we owe this? …

I’ve been thinking a lot lately of our places here on Earth and what causes us to be who we are. Nothing has brought these thoughts to me more convincingly than an email I received tonight from an old college roommate.

Keith was a stanch democrat and at the time of our cohabitation, a real intellect who questioned everything from rock and roll music to the existence of God. He was a great mind who worked for me at the college paper as a political columnist and assistant editor. During our time at East Texas State, he wrote convincingly about why the president of the student body should step down after a “scandal” that led to several members of the schools fraternities being sworn in as student congress members without a general election. I can’t tell you how much fun it was working late nights on stories that we thought were crucial to due process and balance of power.

But beyond that, we had a great personal relationship. He was always there to talk through problems and politics, usually with a smoke in hand, our common bouts of insomnia and almost always Pink Floyd playing in the background. Funny that he chose to email me an update on his life the same week that former Floyd front man Syd Barrett died.

Anyway, Keith’s email started by telling me that he had surprisingly changed his party affiliation to Republican. I was shocked at first, but then my understanding of small town Texas afforded me a tiny bit of understanding into why this type of thing happens. Texas has become a pretty conservative place in the past few years thanks to the man in the White House. Gone are the days of LBJ and ideals that flush mostly left. Keith has returned to our hometown of Paris, Texas and is expecting his second (and as he says probably last) child in October. He is married to his high-school sweetheart. He is making ends meet working as a manager of a shoe store. Some would call that the simple life, but it makes sense for someone who has found the ground wire in his life, even if he now leans more to the right.

Keith also talked about his involvement with a church. Something I’ve been thinking as of late is an important part of life. I was a little shocked that the same person that used to question God’s existence, now was a very active member in a church. That type of change has been written about in books and has been passed down in stories so many times that it seems cliché, but knowing Keith as I do, I realize and will pass to you that is could be nothing short of sincere on his part.

Faith is an important part of life. Whether it is a false comfort as so many poets have reported or the dire need for sense of place on this planet, to each his own. You have to have faith to live. Happiness is knowing you are here for a reason.

Of course my mind plays tricks on me in so many ways, but tonight it seems to push further towards the question of “why am I here.” Keith helped me answer that a little tonight. Knowing that people from your past that you had important relationships with, who years later want to know how you’re doing so much that they spend the time tracking you down, just to send you an update through email is very flattering. It means that somewhere in time I meant enough to someone that they’d say howdy even years later. I’ve always felt like I have taken these things for granted. I’m learning that when it comes to friendship, you can’t do that.

Life’s too short.