2041

Two weeks ago, Steve Pert, my freshman year roommate came down to see me and we went for lunch at Little Havana. That's right, my freshman year roommate. He and I were randomly assigned to be roommates in August, 1977 at 112 Founders Hall, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. We spent a very quiet year together as roommates 32 years ago. He was never my best friend, nor was he an adversary. We were simply two people with separate interests and separate lives sharing a dorm room for nine months.

But as Father Time marches on, interesting things always seem to happen. Steve and I kept in touch (email made things much easier mind you), and all these years later, we're actually very good friends. He lives in Nashville with his wife and two sons, however, because his in-laws live in South Florida, he ventures out this way on occasion and always makes a point to track down his good friend- Dr. Seidman.

He's been quite helpful to me over the years. Aside from being a free place to stay whenever I visited where he was living, he's been quite helpful to me with many different work and personal challenges that developed over the years. Since he paid better attention in Accounting class than I ever did, whenever I have an accounting question, Steve's a great resource. And likewise, when he needed some good jokes, he always came to me.

In 1977, I would never have thought of how helpful he would be to me, and vice-a-versa.

So here's my point- take a look at your freshman year roommate. Can you visualize this person?Now flash forward 32 years in the future. I guess that makes it 2041. Will the two of you be getting together for lunch? Whether you get along with that person or not, you actually have a lot in common. You are both Johnson & Wales students interested in going to school in North Miami, Florida. Years from now, this person could turn out to be a great resource and friend, whether or not you realize it.

Take another peek into the year 2041. Perhaps you and your roommate be getting together for lunch and "jawing" over old times. It's fun to think about, isn't it?