Dropped Off...

...the planet. That's an expression I have heard and read many times, and it came to my mind last night when I was snuggled up under my feather duvet and extra woollen blanket, before drifting off to sleep. That time of the day (or night) has often been when my mind came up with an idea for a blog post, and it did so last night:

Friends I miss, who have seemingly dropped off the planet.

It is easy to lose touch, with each of us being busy with our daily lives, and I know it is next to impossible to keep up the threads of communication with everyone we've ever seen as part of our (wider) circle of friends and acquaintances. Of course, email and blogs do help, but if you email someone and they stop replying, or you leave comments on their blog and they never come back, all the wonders of modern technology do not make a difference.

I dedicate this post to some of the people I was in touch with regularly for years and who have, for unknown reasons, stopped communicating. Who knows - one or two of them might even stumble across this post, recognize themselves, and get back in touch. And even if they have reasons for not talking (or writing) to me anymore (reasons I honestly don't know), at least they will know that I have not forgotten them.

There is Robert, who lives in Canada and was in regular email contact with me for a few years, even co-authoring some of my stories (you can read them by clicking the "short stories" label on my blog - most of them are my own, but there are two or three of Robert's).

Philippe, one of the handsomest men I know (don't let him hear that - he hates it!), a Parisian originally from Cayenne (French Guyana), who has a great sense of humour and whose generosity and ability to deal with difficult circumstances in his life I much admire.

Marjatta, a lady from Finland who combines stunning physical beauty with superior brain power and, again, a great sense of humour and no haughtiness at all.

Ange, my "sister" in Singapore, whom I struck up a close friendship with over a discussion of the merits of Ricky Martin (whom we both dislike), and who is extraordinarily gifted when it comes to languages (and yet another very beautiful lady). She is so honest it can be painful to some.

SP, fellow resident of blogland, whose blog I truly enjoyed until she stopped posting. I do so wish she would reopen it, or at least let her former readers know that she's alright.

The Hattats, whose blog several of you also have been following, and whose posts always allowed me a glimpse of a way of life very different from my own.

Macy in Scotland, who has had more than her fair share of trouble and grief, and whose blog so often made me want to be able to write like her.

There are many more; some have moved their blogs away from here, and I did not follow them there because I find my time taken up well enough without adding yet another platform to my social media portfolio. Most of them I have never met in real life, some others I have. 

Every now and then, someone drops back on to the planet, as has happened recently with Mark, whose blog you'll reach by clicking on his name here.

If any of you should happen to read this and not find you mentioned by name, let me assure you it does not mean I never think of you. There are just - sadly - quite a few of you, too many to fit into one single post. I hope that your silence is not my fault. If I have done anything to offend any of you, it was done unwittingly. Come back if you feel like it; and in any case, I wish you happiness and peace, whereever you are now and whatever you do.