So I started my marketing consultancy, NeedleMine, last month and have been doing some pro bono work to start with which has gone extremely well. I had to go to Boston for a meeting with a potential client that a friend helped set up. This organization was a client of mine 6 years ago and I was pleased to find out later that they were still using systems and protocols that I set up when I last worked with them.
I was told to meet the contact, Max Green, at a location about a block from Fenway and to call him when I arrived so he could let me in the building. Up until this point we had only ever exchanged an email or two. I showed up, called Max, and he came down and opened the door. I was looking at the phone at the time and I heard a voice say “Tom Csicsman?” and it turns out that Max Green is my old high school chum Mike Green! I changed my last name to Lewis nine years ago and Mike changed his about seven years ago.
I last ran into Mike when we were living about a block away from each other on Oak Street in San Francisco just shy of 10 years ago. So we amazingly meet 10 years later in Boston, thousands of miles away from both San Francisco as well as Bellarmine College Prepatory in San Jose. We’re now both involved in interactive, web based marketing but by very different routes. We both just turned 40 in April and on our 40th birthdays, our significant others got us tickets to Paris. Unbelievable.
Regardless of what happens on the client front - I’m elated to have been reconnected with someone who I always had the utmost respect for 25 years ago: he’s still the same guy! While I’ve loved living in New England, I have virtually no friends or acquaintances here that I’ve known for more than the last 10 years, compared to California where I had several social circles whose members included people I had known since 6th grade. Am looking forward to having someone nearby whom I have a longer history with. I might also have another arrival to the east coast this Fall but I won’t know about this for a few more months.
Great story!!!!
Tom, that’s an amazing story…for so many reasons. I think your Mike/Max Green may be an old, old friend of mine from Jr. high in San Jose. I’ve always been curious as to what happened to Mike, but I’ve never been able to find him. With a new name, well, that explains a lot. If you’re still in touch with him, see if he remembers a girl named Amy Cohen from Miller Jr. High. If he’s the same Mike Green, please say hello to him for me.