Social Contract

Really, I have been trying to write this blog artist finished this update literally all week. So far this week has been the most busy week since my retirement. For the first three days I had to be out and out the door like my old schedule. Like I have been out the door like six clock to catch the bus I need to get the were going. Monday was volunteer day of course, Tuesday I started my physical eval's at University of Utah rehabilitation center at the new sugarhouse facility. Actually that was kind of fun. It's been cold this week, unnaturally cold, with rain and snow and wind. This has not been to discomforting to be out in the elements. However I am happy to be basically at home today.

A few weeks ago, I received a piece of mail from my brother, Ross who lives in my hometown Boise Idaho. Inside the letter was a photocopy of a piece of news indicating a local Boise resident had murdered his wife by strangulation. I was totally blown away to see this individual was my old buddy Bruce. Bruce and I had gone to the same elementary school, we played baseball together ended down to the same junior high. I lost contact with Bruce as I did with many at the time of my accident for my life detoured away from all those I grown up with. In the ensuing years I thought of Bruce often on but I doubt ever to the point of trying to actually making contact. I heard things through the grapevine and I would run into old friends but nothing definitive. So, until the letter I got from my brother but had no contact with Bruce in over 40 years.

So what do I do? I've been trying to wrap my brain around this incident for the past three or four weeks. I even contacted my old buddy John who I knew had been quite close to Bruce and his family. It took me three weeks to even talk to John. I didn't know how to frame the question or was even speaking about the issue appropriate. In verbalizing and thinking about this horrendous event I realized how long reaching Bruce's actions had on me. In fact his actions have had some issue on everyone who knew him. Luckily, I live in Salt Lake and Bruce lives in Boise. Even if I wanted to I would not be able to easily visit or communicate with Bruce if communicating with them is even possible. Still what is the social contract? How long does the embrace of friendship reach over the years? And what nullifies the social contract? I have joked that distance might nullify the contract are marriage might nullify the social contract of friendship. I mean I don't think my wife would be open to me packing up and driving to Boise for a weekend to see if I could visit Bruce and offer my support. What support could I be I mean really I am thinking support “hey buddy I hope everything works out, I'm thinking of you” and that's about it. It's not like I would contribute any kind of legal fund, he clearly did it, he's a murderer does that nullify everything? Boy, how much more awkward would've been if there was a question of innocence? I mean this is hardball good old Bruce could swing on something like this, since they still hang folks in Idaho. My friend John said he was done with Bruce and that was that. The conversation with John did help to some degree. I mean I start pondering the issue gets weird really fast. It's like now everybody in our class from campus school, East Junior High and those good folks who went to Boise High is sort of colors the whole class just because Bruce was part of that group. We all end up taking a little of this responsibility whether we like it or not. That's just really strange. I just can't wrap my head around it.