Forty years ago...

...two teen-aged boys grew up in a typical middle-class neighborhood.
A lovely place where everyone knew their neighbors and their families.
Nobody locked their doors and everone could trust one another.
Our neighbors were known as 'aunt' Henrietta and 'uncle' Oscar.
Their children were our 'cousins' and our folks looked out for them.

Derick Hartshorn and Tom Campbell grew up in E. Springfield, a town within a city.
They went to the same small-town church and had the same friends.
Next door to East Congregational Church was the school they both attended.

By age 15, Derick began his freshman year at Classical High School.
Meanwhile, Tom attended Technical High School, one block away.

Later, they moved apart; Tom to Florida and Derick to North Carolina.

As the years passed, others moved away from Springfield, a tired old city.
The newer population spoke English only as a second language, if at all.

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The image fades and four decades pass.
Tom takes high school sweetheart, Terry, for his bride.
Meanwhile, Derick marries a local North Carolina gal, Lana.

Slowly at first, and then like a flurry, the calendar pages flip past.
Before we know it, we find ourselves in the 21st century.

Modern technology never fails to amaze me.
Though holding a degree in Computer Technology (1971),
I am always overwhelmed by the pleasant aspects of the electronic age.
Because of my Internet trail, Tom was able to track me down.

The phone rang and an amazing serendipity began to play out.
After forty-one years, we came full circle and finally recovered the past.
We look different now but our brides see us the same for all eternity.
When we look in their eyes, we see them as they were on our wedding day.

And here we are, forty years later:

Tom and Terry Campbell Derick & Lana Hartshorn 

Still under construction

Derick S. Hartshorn - (C) 2005
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