The Case for the Might-Have-Beens

These days we all seem to head into the future with so much of a past, all pigeon holed nicely so that at any time we can produce a handy list or do a nice internet search to reconnect (lovers, partners, school friends, university friends, ex-colleagues and so on). But what about those people that had an impact on our lives but don't fit neatly into any category? We all have people who, perhaps in different circumstances, might have become something quantifiable but for some reason, some fated obstacle this wasn't to be. For me I can remember the colleague who sat opposite me and for 18 months we flirted, fought, ignored and generally distracted each other from working constructively. The attraction was unmistakeable but neither of us was in a position to pursue it, so we tried to ignore it. I still remember him fondly and wonder if he still sings Sinatra while he works but I doubt I will ever have contact with him again. It is not that I hanker for the past - my present is so much happier - or even that I would like to find out what might have been, it is more a sense of acknowledging that he also had an influence on my life and a hope that life has been good to him.