Amid All the Bad Jokes, An 'Eternal Friend'

摘要

Years ago, I swore I'd be the last holdout in a universe so plugged in and wired up that everyone, it seemed, had instant access to every other human being across the planet. I wasn't against technology per se, I just didn't like the idea of giving up my anonymity. I held out as long as possible, but finally succumbed to family pressure and signed up for e-mail. Suddenly, I was ripe for the picking by any school chum nostalgic for a reunion with the freckle-faced girl in the seventh-grade yearbook. Shortly before last Christmas, my best friend from high school tracked me down by e-mail from his home in Florida. I had seen him exactly three times in the previous 28 years and exchanged only the occasional Christmas card. I received his message instantly. "R U OK?" he asked, for days having been unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something was. My husband of more than 20 years had moved out, leaving me struggling to keep a smile on my face for the sake of the children.