I never dreamt this day would come!
His ship docked at the Jersey City harbor mid afternoon today. After a long ride on the NJ turnpike, I eased my car on to Port Jersey Boulevard a little past 5 PM. I was searching for #302 but couldn't find it. I tried calling him but he wouldn't pick up. I could see long lines of cranes and containers on either side of the road so I was sure I was in the right place. I tried calling him again, but there was no response. I let my car keep rolling down the track. "Waterfront Observation Deck", a road sign said. "What's the worst that can happen?", I thought. "I'll get a view of the water, so let me keep pulling forward"...
"No entry beyond this point", screamed another sign right ahead of me. I stopped the car and looked to the right. More cranes and more containers. Then I looked left. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "This cannot be true", I thought. I made a quick U-turn and in front of me was the observation deck. And right below the deck on the right hand side corner of the road was a cul-de-sac. I pulled up into it, parked my car and jumped out. I looked out on the waterfront. I'd never seen this view before...
As wide as my eyes could take in, from my left to right were an isolated tree, the Goldman Sachs building (the tallest in Jersey City), the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, downtown Manhattan, the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in intertwined fashion, the Staten Island Ferry and the island itself. I have never hid my love for New York city but this was a view I had never seen before. It was truly magestic! Just then the phone rang. He said he had just come out of his ship and was waiting for me on the street. I asked him to stay on the phone, turned back to the water and took one deep breath. I let the view soak in. Mother Nature was celebrating my reunion with an old friend...
I have known him since school, but since he chose to go a different school at some point, it was really college that brought us back together. The first cultural tour, mad Mardi-Gras nights, night-out study sessions and gut-wrenching stage performances are only some of the things we shared. Those 4 years at college and several later created a bond that would never be broken...
He started sailing soon after college. We'd write to each other letters on paper. He'd be back for breaks after gruelling journeys. And we'd go back to our revelry, enjoying each other's company. Slowly the journeys grew longer. I moved to a different city. We still stayed in touch somehow. And then suddenly we lost touch with each other. He was still sailing when I moved to the US and several attempts to reach him never bore fruit for four years...
He was never technology-friendly. He would have responded to at least one of my emails if he was. But fate and facebook always re-unite friends forever. On Jan 1, 2012, he found me on facebook and send me a friend request. God, was I thrilled to hear from him again? He was in India and I was in the US. But we stayed in touch until he set forth for his next journey. I realised he had stepped up several notches in technology, only when he emailed me from his ship a few days later to let me know he would soon be docking in New Jersey...
Life has its ways! The first time he touched here was a school night for my son. And I couldn't go out to see him. So we only talked a couple of hours before he set sail again. He was going to Italy but would return soon. Alas! When he came back to New Jersey, I was holidaying in sunny California. What a shame we couldn't meet...
If there is one thing life has taught me in the last 3 years (even before I started using facebook!), it is that you never lose the relationships in which you have invested in. Those people you believed in and shared with always have a way of coming right back into your life in the most surprising of circumstances. I just got back from my holiday yesterday when my phone rang. "I'll be docking in Jersey City about 2 PM tomorrow. Can you come to see me?, he said. "You should not miss this chance, drop whatever you have and go see him", my wife said...
I stayed on the phone as I slowly rolled my wheels back through Port Jersey till I found him at the gates of Global Terminal Container Services. He smiled at me, cut the call, walked over to the car and joined me. I don't know how the next 3 hours passed. We did what we always did best. We drove around, we ate dinner, talked non-sense and laughed like hell till I dropped him back at the dock at about 9 PM and only because his ship leaves again at 5 AM and I had promised I would help my son with an essay tonight. I guess I don't have to describe how I felt or how I feel...
In all the things we did together in all these years, there is one thing that stands out for all to see. Everyone who knows us together knows this. Whenever it was, whatever we did and wherever we went, it was always he, who came and picked me up. From his simple silver plus during college to his shiny Santro later in life, it was always me riding the passenger seat, enjoying his driving and his company. To Besant Nagar beach, through Madras city and to every possible eatery that we could spend our money in, he drove me...
In my wildest of dreams, I never dreamt this day would come. When I would be the one to go pick him up and take him for a spin! Thank you da KARTHIK, for letting me return the favor...
His ship docked at the Jersey City harbor mid afternoon today. After a long ride on the NJ turnpike, I eased my car on to Port Jersey Boulevard a little past 5 PM. I was searching for #302 but couldn't find it. I tried calling him but he wouldn't pick up. I could see long lines of cranes and containers on either side of the road so I was sure I was in the right place. I tried calling him again, but there was no response. I let my car keep rolling down the track. "Waterfront Observation Deck", a road sign said. "What's the worst that can happen?", I thought. "I'll get a view of the water, so let me keep pulling forward"...
"No entry beyond this point", screamed another sign right ahead of me. I stopped the car and looked to the right. More cranes and more containers. Then I looked left. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "This cannot be true", I thought. I made a quick U-turn and in front of me was the observation deck. And right below the deck on the right hand side corner of the road was a cul-de-sac. I pulled up into it, parked my car and jumped out. I looked out on the waterfront. I'd never seen this view before...
As wide as my eyes could take in, from my left to right were an isolated tree, the Goldman Sachs building (the tallest in Jersey City), the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, downtown Manhattan, the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in intertwined fashion, the Staten Island Ferry and the island itself. I have never hid my love for New York city but this was a view I had never seen before. It was truly magestic! Just then the phone rang. He said he had just come out of his ship and was waiting for me on the street. I asked him to stay on the phone, turned back to the water and took one deep breath. I let the view soak in. Mother Nature was celebrating my reunion with an old friend...
I have known him since school, but since he chose to go a different school at some point, it was really college that brought us back together. The first cultural tour, mad Mardi-Gras nights, night-out study sessions and gut-wrenching stage performances are only some of the things we shared. Those 4 years at college and several later created a bond that would never be broken...
He started sailing soon after college. We'd write to each other letters on paper. He'd be back for breaks after gruelling journeys. And we'd go back to our revelry, enjoying each other's company. Slowly the journeys grew longer. I moved to a different city. We still stayed in touch somehow. And then suddenly we lost touch with each other. He was still sailing when I moved to the US and several attempts to reach him never bore fruit for four years...
He was never technology-friendly. He would have responded to at least one of my emails if he was. But fate and facebook always re-unite friends forever. On Jan 1, 2012, he found me on facebook and send me a friend request. God, was I thrilled to hear from him again? He was in India and I was in the US. But we stayed in touch until he set forth for his next journey. I realised he had stepped up several notches in technology, only when he emailed me from his ship a few days later to let me know he would soon be docking in New Jersey...
Life has its ways! The first time he touched here was a school night for my son. And I couldn't go out to see him. So we only talked a couple of hours before he set sail again. He was going to Italy but would return soon. Alas! When he came back to New Jersey, I was holidaying in sunny California. What a shame we couldn't meet...
If there is one thing life has taught me in the last 3 years (even before I started using facebook!), it is that you never lose the relationships in which you have invested in. Those people you believed in and shared with always have a way of coming right back into your life in the most surprising of circumstances. I just got back from my holiday yesterday when my phone rang. "I'll be docking in Jersey City about 2 PM tomorrow. Can you come to see me?, he said. "You should not miss this chance, drop whatever you have and go see him", my wife said...
I stayed on the phone as I slowly rolled my wheels back through Port Jersey till I found him at the gates of Global Terminal Container Services. He smiled at me, cut the call, walked over to the car and joined me. I don't know how the next 3 hours passed. We did what we always did best. We drove around, we ate dinner, talked non-sense and laughed like hell till I dropped him back at the dock at about 9 PM and only because his ship leaves again at 5 AM and I had promised I would help my son with an essay tonight. I guess I don't have to describe how I felt or how I feel...
In all the things we did together in all these years, there is one thing that stands out for all to see. Everyone who knows us together knows this. Whenever it was, whatever we did and wherever we went, it was always he, who came and picked me up. From his simple silver plus during college to his shiny Santro later in life, it was always me riding the passenger seat, enjoying his driving and his company. To Besant Nagar beach, through Madras city and to every possible eatery that we could spend our money in, he drove me...
In my wildest of dreams, I never dreamt this day would come. When I would be the one to go pick him up and take him for a spin! Thank you da KARTHIK, for letting me return the favor...
4 comments:
WOW!
nice one suri!
Thanks Manasa and Raj
:) Very nice..
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