For just a few hours, time stood still.

In an old Chicago tavern where memories are etched into every scratch on the planks of the old wood floors and the smell of stale beer mingles with scrubbed faces and subtle colognes, time had stopped.   Hugs exchanged between friends were so tight as if trying to resurrect the innocence and simplicity of what was.  Kisses were bestowed on time worn faces.  Frenetic chatter and stories that generated laughter…or maybe tears….were shared with an unspoken desire to hang on to this moment.  Memories tried to co-mingle where once they resided alone.  There is something so poignant about this moment. The omnipresence of it all.  Once upon a time, these people  helped to form each other.  Now, reconnected again, they see the results.  And they reminisce.  And they celebrate.

For, on this day, for just a while, time stood still.