I Sent an Old Friend Cookies

I sent an old friend some cookies last week.

It was a gentleman with whom I served in the military and, since our service was prior to social media, we had fallen out of touch. A random search on social media led me to his personal page, which gave me an idea of where he worked, so after a little sleuthing, I had the address to his office.

Every few weeks I bake a batch of my mom's cookies, using the same recipe she's been using since I was a child, and take them into the office. This time, I had a better idea.

When we were stationed together in the military, as roommates, he would get just as excited as I would get when I received a care package from home. Mainly because he knew that the care package would (probably) contain a few dozen of Mom's cookies. He was a great roommate, so it was always my pleasure to share with him.

After rooming with him for the better part of 16 months, he rotated out of the service and headed back to the US. Through the grapevine, I heard that he was living in Colorado, working for the US Forestry Service.

When I separated from the service, I took a road trip to Colorado and looked him up. This was only about 5 years after I had last spoken to him, and we had a nice visit. We parted ways (this was before social media), and I didn't hear from him again.

Until today.

I was driving when my cell rang and, on the console, I saw that it was a call from my office. When I answered, the voice on the other end of the line said, "Hey, Falcon - thanks for the cookies."

My heart almost jumped out of my chest: it was a voice I knew well.

(For those who have not served in the military, you might not know about the bonds that form when you are in that type of situation: it changes you. The friends you make are friends for life, regardless if you keep in touch or not.)

I had sent the cookies with only a return address and a note that said, "I hope these cookies find you well. They are made from the same recipe my mom used when she would send them to us."

Well, my buddy did a little sleuthing of his own and, within a few minutes, had found the number to my office, and they forwarded his call to my cell.

We chatted for a few minutes about his job, his family, my family, and the cookies. We didn't once mention our time in the military (save for the talk about the care packages). I think that we'll save that discussion for our visit (we plan to get together this summer, barring any COVID restrictions).

Send the cookies.