Christmas Cards and Memories

Going through my mother's things, I came across an old Christmas card from someone I knew - a young man I met on a Greyhound bus when I was 17. The interesting twist to the story is that he and my parents ended up becoming friends!

I met Bob en route from Kelowna to Red Deer, a boring 10-hour Greyhound ride back in the day.

I hadn't chatted with anyone for the first 8 hours of the trip... Everyone on the bus was "old"! But two hours before we reached Banff, another teenager embarked. He too was travelling alone.

When the bus stopped for a break, for passengers to stretch their legs, Bob and I started to chat. For the rest of the ride to Calgary, we sat together, chatting about our studies and plans.

In Calgary, he disembarked - and I continued on to Red Deer. We exchanged addresses. Occasionally we wrote, just to keep in touch.

Bob ended up working as a radio broadcaster. I moved to Vancouver to attend university, and a year later, moved abroad.

Bob's letters were a wonder to behold! He had amazing handwriting! He was also a wonderful photographer. I had hoped to find a picture that he took of my dad and our dog...

I only saw Bob once again - at the airport in Calgary during a long stopover en route to Israel. But whenever he passed through Kelowna, he'd drop in to visit my parents. My mother would share his  news... that he married, had children... and moved to the west coast.

At some point, they lost touch... But she kept this old card with its wonderful handwriting. Seeing it, I wondered: Whatever has happened to Bob?

I googled his name, which led me to... an obituary: Sadly, he died in 2014, (two years before my mother) at the age of 70. Thankfully, he had lived a full life, enjoying his career and family.

(Without the internet, I would only have questions: I wonder where Bob is now...)