Old friends are important to all of us, but there’s a catch to them.

How important are your old friends to you? I expect most, if not all of us, would answer that question by saying they are very important to us. They represent connections, relationships and in some cases they are who we are.

They are a mirror to our inner selves and sometimes that can be shocking! What!?! She/He is like me? Really?? And, upon a bit of reflection we realize our old friends were chosen because of our similarities — we meshed, grew together and spent a lot of time laughing together, talking together, consoling each other and, just being there for each other.

But, there’s a catch to old friends but first let’s get specific.

For some reason, an old classmate of mine kept coming up on one of my social media platforms. At first, I ignored her because, you know, it’s been a long, long time and what did we have in common anymore? Then my older sister told me about an old classmate of hers that she was now speaking with and guess what? My sister’s old classmate is the sister to my old classmate. Hmmm…technology does know us, doesn’t it?

So, I contacted my old friend via messaging and asked if she had been trying to connect with me. She answered yes but wasn’t sure why she felt the need to do that. I called her.

We spoke for many minutes about our common history — church, public schools and sporting events. Her voice had changed over the years but she was just as sassy as I remembered her. I had to stay on my toes to keep up with her and we had a good time chatting. We’ll stay in contact because well, we’re old friends and share many interests. After the phone call, I poured a glass of wine.

For some reason, I went to an old friend of mine — Edna Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I’ve enjoyed this medium bodied red for many years and reveled in its fine cherry and a hint of spice taste. Edna Valley — a good old friend of mine and then that catch hit me.

Then I began to realize that old friends are not just human beings. For instance, they can be the old friend of fall colors. I’m not even going to tell you how many fall color events I’ve seen but let’s just say it’s been quite a few. Are they different every year? Yes and no! The colors are the same but they present themselves in differing arrangements and views — they are part of who we are and I look forward to my old friend every fall. I remember them in the fall like I recall a certain wine.

Way back when I was in the Navy and stationed in Germany, I was introduced to a German Riesling named Schmitt Söhne Piesporter Rielsing from the Mosel region of the country. Let’s just say that over the years I’ve sipped “a few” glasses of this fragrant and medium bodied wine that has lots of fruit flavors. I just had a glass of it a couple of days ago and it’s such a good old friend.

I sat down to read a book and suddenly knew books are old friends of mine! For many of us it’s impossible to think how many books we’ve read but, darn it, books are old friends, too! My go-to old friend is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald entitled “The Great Gatsby.” It’s a relatively short read but so full of so many emotions — just like Toasted Head Chardonnay.

Toasted Head and I have been together quite a few times and it’s never disappointed me with its tastes of apple and vanilla. We’ve turned a few pages together!

It’s my hope to revisit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness again. My first venture was a number of years ago with a group of Boy Scouts and I’ll never forget its beauty, silence and awe inspiring sense of a pristine place. Like the beer I first every tasted, a classic Grain Belt Lager, it was my maiden voyage to such an area.

Grain Belt Lager — such a Minnesota icon and such a clean and crisp beverage. Just like the BWCAW — clean and crisp!

Yet, with all these old friends of mine, there’s that catch that keeps coming into play. What is it?

What I’ve learned is that old friends always lead to new friends!

Schmitt Söhne Riesling led to Hogue Late Harvest Riesling. Toasted Head Chardonnay led to Meiomi Chardonnay and Grain Belt led me to Fulton’s Sweet Child of Vine IPA. And, as these new friends became old friends, they led me to other new and exciting new friends!

Ain’t life grand?