Had dinner with some old friends this evening. We've known each other since the late '70s (yes, we're getting old - as their thirteen-year-old daughter was only too happy to point out), when J and I worked at the same camera store. Eventually, he and I went back to school, got fancy degrees, and went off to other things. Haven't seen them regularly for a long time. I was in Tampa, they were in New York. I was here, they were still in New York. Now "she"'s back while "he"'s still mostly in New York, teaching at Columbia. I'd gotten used to not seeing them, but I realize now just how much I've missed their company.