A Nigel Page
by Nicole D. Myers
August 2003
‘The Republic Of Love’ directed by Deepa Metha and based on a Carol Shields novel. I picked this one for obvious reasons but there are several of them that I would love to see. ‘Party Monster’ and ‘Vent’ to name a few.
There is one movie in particular that just reading about it affected me. It’s a film written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It’s called ‘ Lost In Translation’. I was perched on the stool behind the Sea Spray counter reading this and it thunked me right in the gut.
The film is a deemed a valentine to the nature of close friendships (as well as Tokyo where the film is set) we forge, those unexpected connections we make that might not last but stay with us forever. I started a quick inventory in my head and suddenly realized there were many. It got me thinking about others. How many unexpected connections do other people make that etch meaning into their lives then disappear, becoming the soundtrack and furniture of their forever heart?
There are many on my list, from childhood on but there are a select few that have had a far greater impact on who and what I am and have become. Thinking of each of them now, I miss them more than I can say but celebrate the gifts they’ve given me, sometimes without even realizing so. My spirit has been highlighted by these lost friends. Their electricity remains, their faces and names not in my view or immediate thoughts but their influence present always in the words I speak, the things I do and the places I go.
I had one friend who I felt for certain would be a life long friend. We met through a common interest and just from that chance meeting a genuine equal friendship bloomed. I’m still not certain why the friendship ended but I know two things: I inherited a wealth of fortitude from her and many little things that I carry with me. She left a clear impression on my heart. I can say with great confidence that if the friendship were renewed, I would be most pleased but I am content that she is one of those connections that while unexpected, was meant to happen - someone to know for awhile, someone to learn from, appreciated for their fire and then set free.
There are those connections we make that when they are gone you are left with that feeling that you are better for having known them. There was a gentleman I befriended, or he befriended me (I can’t really remember now) who when he drifted out of my life left me with a better sense of self. He opened my heart and introduced me to pieces of it I didn’t know existed. He broke me open to an essence I have yet to accurately describe. I imagine him as more of a phantom than a man because his stay in my life was so brief but he carved his name on my heart, visible yet anonymous to many though no one as aware as I. I am grateful for his presence in my past even if for only his laughter. He had an exquisite laugh. Sometimes I think I hear it on the wind.
To those ‘lost in translation’ to me, thank you. You’ve helped shape a life. Maybe you should make an inventory of your own. How many consider YOU to be an unexpected connection? Think about it.
Nicole