YOU CAN’T MAKE NEW OLD FRIENDS

Longevity in relationships is a grounding, soul-affirming gift

Wendy Cohan

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Photo by Melanie Stander on Unsplash

Kenny and Dolly sang a duet about it. “You can’t make old friends
Can’t make old friends. It was you and me, since way back when
But you can’t make old friends.”
I included a link to the whole song at the bottom of this piece. It’s worth a listen, for sure. There is so much wisdom and emotion in this song — and truth.

“Lethologica” is the temporary inability to remember a particular word or name. As we age, more of us tend to complain about this difficulty with word-finding. It’s annoying, and worrying, but lethologica can occur at any age, and it’s often associated with sleep deprivation. This morning, I had a distinct memory of an awkward phone conversation with Laura, my best friend of forty years. She was trying to tell me how much she missed going to “the place you go to work out.”

And I was saying, “I like working out, and I miss it too. But we don’t have one of those things nearby.”

Darn it, it’s such a simple word,” she said. “I can’t believe I can’t remember it. I think it has three letters?”

Hmm. I wracked my brain, made a serious effort. “I think it might be, gym?”

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Wendy Cohan
Wendy Cohan

Written by Wendy Cohan

Author of character-driven women's fiction, short stories, and essays. Her contemporary romance, The Renaissance Sisters, debuted May 23, 2023.