February 18, 2025
I buy too many snacks at CVS. Arguably, buying any snacks at CVS is too many, but it’s next to SMPA, and I’m often too lazy to walk the two blocks to Whole Foods. Lately, I’ve been on a Smart Food kick - it can’t be as bad for you as other snacks because it’s called Smart Food, right?
Every time I pick up a bag, I think of a college friend named Josh Knauer. Josh was the first person I met at Emerson, and he was my last roommate in Boston. He was also something of a Smart Food evangelist. Josh and I have kept in touch on and off over the years, one of those close friends I don’t see often. We were in each other’s weddings, I was at his dad’s funeral. But he lives in Florida, and neither of us makes the effort to visit the other. Last week I sent him a text after sucking down yet another bag of Smart Food. Nothing deep, just a note to let him know I was thinking of him and our time sharing a very small apartment a very long time ago.
It can be easy to not contact someone you haven’t talked to in a while. It can feel weird to show up with a small note if you haven’t been in touch. Which means you don’t send the note, and more time passes, raising the stakes and making the next note less likely. Josh didn’t feel slighted, he sent a nice text back, and we got on with our days. Low pressure, low stakes, a reminder of a loose but important connection. Next time someone occurs to you, tap them a note. Keep loose connections connected lest you lose them.