Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?

There is a song that starts with this line, and as one gets on with life, one realizes that – yes… for whatever reason, old acquaintances do get left behind and eventually forgotten, as we move on – move out or simply just move… elsewhere…

We see friends less and less – at times making a point to try and keep in touch – but even this tends to get caught in the many trivial and important things life throws at us, and without realizing it… we hardly find our old acquaintances at all.

And yet… in these days of cell phones, internet instant access, virtual social networks, email or instant messaging, maintaining contact isn’t that hard to do… nor is it expensive, either. We can even get near-real-time information of what others are thinking or doing via sites like Plurk, Twitter or Facebook – so what excuse would we have for not keeping in contact?

Hardly any, really… even distance, after all, is not an excuse, since the typical PC can be configured to send and retrieve real time video/audio streaming… resulting in being able to have a very decent (quality-wise) conversation; whether pure text, voice or video.

And yet again… these may not always be enough. After all, say what you will about these tools for communication – and I’d be agreeing with you, but face-to-face, real time conversations are still the better style (or medium) of communicating with friends.

This leads me to what seems to be such a practice – thought, probably not a reason for such practice’s humble beginnings – but it is one obvious advantage fulfilled… namely the keeping of friendship bonds. So how do I do it?

Bacardi Nights…

There is nothing really special about the Rhum – other than the fact that we almost all love it as a mixed drink that can help fuel our conversations. It certainly keeps us from getting thirsty while we talk (or listen) – usually catching up to what’s been happening to each and everyone sine we last got together.

These Bacardi nights are simply a monthly gathering of friends, with the sole intent of sharing the night in a relaxing manner… where conversations can revolve around work, or people at work, or of other things in any manner or order. The important thing is you come prepared to unwind, talk and renew bonds of friendships.

That is what I and a bunch of colleagues have endeavored to do. We rotate houses where we can have these Bacardi nights, so as to not impose too much on anyone – and we also bring some dish (or drink) to help support the gathering’s needs.

So far, I’ve been privy to around three Bacardi nights at friends’ houses… and an almost equal number held at home – albeit, with a smaller crowd… and all I can say about it is that there’s never been a Bacardi night that I have not enjoyed. What do we normally do with out Bacardi? We make Mojitos, sometimes we just mix it with fruit juice – or sometimes, we use other alcohol available… my home is usually stocked with Jaegermeister (schnapps), Absolut (vodka), Contrieu (orange liqueur), Bailey’s (Irish Crème), Kahlua (coffee liqueur) and a few bottle/cans of San Miguel (beer). We don’t mix and match alcohol - though if we do mix our alcohol, we are careful not to go for a lower alcohol content.

Friendships preserved, updates exchanged,and should the Mojito run out of ingredients, we cn always mix the Rhunm with other things (like Coke). If we were to call it a night, I would say that there would be days when we would rather stay around longer… but the next day’s activity beckons… and in my case, I can’t be too drunk and nurse a hang-over (which , by the way Bacardi does not do) while going to mass.

So what are you waiting for? Why not organize a Bacardi night for you and friends and keep those acquaintances unforgotten?