Last time, first time

A reminder, every month on the last day before 12 midnight, I post some crap in my blog and publish it. Its connecting time with my friends, the main message what it conveys, a hidden message, I am alive and may or may not be kicking and awake enough to write.These lines I have been repeating quite often. That means I am growing old, a sure sign of aging when you repeat the same thing, In case you do not remember, you are also growing old. This is a stage where I do all the writing and you may or may not read. You have an option.

I was returning to Bangalore from Kochi by train, last week. A youngster around 35 was passing by my seat in the compartment, all of a sudden stopped took a step back and said “hello, Sir”.
I gave a searching look and hesitantly said hello, digging deep into my memory. Of late I made a big change in my behaviour, I have accepted that I forget names and faces, blaming it on my age, though it’s been happening for some time. Earlier, I would pat the guy and shake his hand hard, farther away in my memory harder the pat and ask are you still working in…..wi.., he would complete it for me, it convinces him I remember him. If I had someone with me, I would tell the guy from the side of my mouth to introduce himself and ask his name and back ground. This problem I do not have with ladies, strange!

Any way this guy sat next to me on the berth and said his name was Arun and we had met in one of these trips. I loved this, I have made so many acquaintances in the train journeys and never met them again (unless we haven’t recognized each other).

I told him I was very happy to meet him, though I do not remember and it is the first time I was experiencing this repeat.
Oh, Sir, your statement “it is the first time that you are experiencing..will connect us to our last meeting.
I asked him ” how”
He said “in our last meeting, you had asked me a question, which transformed my boring life to an exciting one”
” You asked, when was the last time you did something for the first time”
He said “I started giving some vague answer, when you said it can be any simple thing, like helping an old person, a stranger, to cross the road or planting a seed or dancing in the rain or doing a regular job differently or take a lead or sing a song ( never mind how lousy it is) etc etc”.
He continued ” every word you said got embedded inside me and everyday I was doing something for the first time, I even started practicing to write with my left hand though I am a righty, guitar classes, cooking, experimenting different dishes .., these things I passed on to my family and friends”
“I was practicing it diligently and I am maintaing a journal where I am recording everything every day, my boring life is pretty exciting has made me hyper”
“Before I forget, I bought your book ” This and That” from Amazon, read it, some of the chapters like Lady luck about the lottery seller was touching and trip to himachal pradesh, I read many times, I wanted to contact you, I could not find your number or address, glad I met you”

Before this guy made me cry, I changed the subject and asked him about his family and later lectured him on stock market.
Well to cut the story short, here I had experience of recognition and appreciation for the first time and we forgot to exchange our contact numbers. Next time..