Friends spread around the world
Maybe it is the distance that is making me feel this way

December 8, 2006
iranian.com

The little clock on the corner of the computer says 12:16 AM. I'm fighting tears after saying good bye to two dear friends. But then again, having tears in my eyes is nothing new for me these days.

I was on line, reading the news, watching the news on TV, at the same time, when Koroush comes on line saying, "Hamid, what are you doing?" Surprised that he's still awake, he told me he couldn't sleep.

Moments later he tells me that Mori is on line too, can we conference? I set it up, since he said he is not up to speed with "these things". Mori comes on and the three of us start chatting.

Mori is a dear friend, one of a kind, man amongst men, and one of the nicest human beings I have ever known. He and Koroush have been friends for well over 30 years and I've been blessed to have known them both for the past ten to fifteen years. Mori decided to move back to Iran last year. His absence is felt deeply, especially when we go to San Jose, (Northern California), where he used to live and Koroush does, still.

My wife and I just finished packing. We're driving to SJ to spend time with Koroush and his wife and also the wife's family. I can just feel the void, when we drive into town tomorrow, Mori isn't going to be there.

Maybe it is the distance that is making me feel this way, but I don't recall feeling so deeply about a friend that is not around, and I have had my share of separations from good friends and saying good bye to some dear ones. 

It was just last month when the three of us got together in Tehran for one night. I was leaving Tehran, after spending a month there for my father's departure and Koroush had just arrived the night before. We had one night to get together and we did. Some extreme sorrow and difficult times were put aside for one night and the three of us got together, played music, sang and enjoyed a moment, while it lasted. 

I can't let this scape my mind that at a time, when we all need our friends, since they are going to be the ones lasting a life time, we have to be so far apart. My childhood friends are in Iran, my high-school buddy is in Switzerland, my college best friend is in Kansas, another in Denver.... One thing I am envious of my father is that until his death, his friends were around him. His childhood buddies, whom hugged me and cried on my shoulder for passing of Dad, were with him hours or days before he died.

I sit here in Southern Orange County with my friends spread around the world.

I miss you guys, all of you. Comment