The Nicest Man I’ve Ever Met
CBMUSED at 1:56 pm Category: LifeTags: cbmused, life lessons, memories
Last night amidst a mountain of documents from a 4-drawer filing cabinet accumulated over a decade, the desire to cull, purge and sort was strong. Being well-organised is as much a vice as it is an advantage.
Rummaging through the contents of the filing cabinet was like entering an Aladdin’s cave of memories. Amongst old bills, collected newspaper cuttings and travel brochures and memorabilia, snippets of a remembered past flashed with the lightening outside.
And I found his short story.
Mr N, whose age was just a number that would have put him in the ranks of a grandfather, had lent me a small portfolio of his writing, meticulously typewriter-written and edited. One story had a profound effect on me at the time, and with his permission, I had kept a copy. To what purpose, I cannot recall. I scanned through the words, remembering the friendship with a gentleman who had passed on but not before teaching me an age-old lesson in life.
Sorting through another folder of past work, I reviewed a series of names, filed in alphabetical order with the identifying comment I had given each person. “The nicest man I’ve ever met” was written on his card, a label so worthy and well-deserved that it did not need his name on it, as identifying as his signature hat and winter scarf. My heart leaped when I noticed his date of birth: 16 June.
Memories may be filed deep in drawers or in cavernous filing cabinets, or they may be archived in our minds, yet suddenly they unravel through the touch of an ageing piece of paper, the echo of a few notable words or past sentiments that linger with us for the rest of our lives.
– For Mr N, In Memory of His Birthday
June 17th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
My best friend on this Earth was a 90 year old apricot farmer. He taught me how to irrigate by feel and by heart and to save and appreciate everything. Our family spent a summer living in his orchard in tents and I got to know him very well.
Sometimes the strangest friends on paper are the best friends you have.
June 17th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
The sad story of photos and such is that old Polaroids fade very fast, Kodachrome has a shelf life better than all old school photos, videos disappear given a short period of time. Essentially all our current mediums meant to document memories are not long lived. The ole chisel in stone seems to be the most efficient way to preserve history (see fire of Alexandria Library) Home burnt CD’s are not very permanent from what un-researched information I have.
I forgot what my point was, which was I suppose my point.
June 17th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Casey: These people are quite extraordinary. They make an impact on our lives and treat us as equals, just as they teach us life lessons. Maybe it is something they pass on to younger generations without the parental label.
Friends on paper are still tangible.
JW: Essentially all our current mediums meant to document memories are not long lived. – Just like us, yet we hold onto those faded relics which have become part of us.
Nice comment.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Sounds like a good guy. That’s nice you keep his story.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Jarod: I only knew him as a 70+ year old, and I’d say he had a way of winning people. To be honest, I dont know why I kept the story back then. I’m just glad to have a little piece of his memory.
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
You just don’t realise how rare these people are when you meet them earlier in life, but perhaps you did… and that’s why you kept the story. Then again, I get the feeling you like to keep little things to remind you of people who have left a lasting impression. Just a hunch.
June 22nd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Gboy: I think you’re onto something here. I valued that friendship from the start, and maybe you’re right, I wanted something as a reminder, something personal that would be uniquely him. And what better than someone’s writing?