Today I spoke with a friend of mine from Zürich that I haven’t talked to for over 20 years and it was if I had just seen him yesterday.
Pascal and I met on a basketball court near the Kirche Fluntern just off of the Zurichbergstrasse close to where I lived. We were shooting and finally got into a conversation and I was shocked that he wasn’t American because I couldn’t discern his accent or linguisitic skills from a native American, in fact it was much better than most, and it still is, with a bit of a Boston twist.
Pascal and I remained in pretty good contact for a good while until the 2000s when I moved to New Jersey. He came to my first wedding on Long Island in New York, he visited me in Bremerhaven and Osnabrueck and I dropped by when I was in Zurich at the end of the 90s.
Not only is he a master of languages speaking English, French, Italian and German, as well as Swiss German of course, but he is an excellent pianist and holds a Masters Degree in Music from the University of Illinois where he studied with John Wustman.
Since those days, he has delved into the different aspects of the arts and has done some amazing work as an artist too.
You know, when I think of my time in Zürich I remember all of the things that I was exposed to and learned about in terms of European life. All of that year was a constant effort to keep myself moving forward, trying to get along in the studio and get the most of being in a great opera house for a year and hearing all of those great singers, conductors and musicians.
But, it was special to get to know Pascal and his family who invited me into their home with a big beautiful picture window looking over Zürich and the Zürichsee with the Alps in the distance. I learned how they made salad dressing and got to know the wonders of some great cooking. They are all so talented and nice people.
Now I am getting a bit homesick for my European friends who have meant so much to me over the years. I’m not going to allow time to slip away any more because they mean too much to me. The past two years I have been almost completely consumed with family matters, taking care of everyone and making sure I am there for my family. But, that is going to have to change because I can’t afford to lose my whole experience to time and distance.
Life is really about the journey and the people we meet along the way. Every person is such a special chapter in our lives.