Skype

I just talked to Gerry Munden on Skype. We met through slow pitch softball in England in the 1980s. He now lives in New Zealand.

Skype is a software that lets you phone anywhere in the world.

Three things amazed me.

First, the quality of the call was excellent. His voice was loud and clear, which was pretty good considering my headset cost less than $20.

Second, we talked for more than 45 minutes and it didn’t cost me a cent. While I was talking computer to computer, they have a plan where you can talk to a regular phone anywhere in the USA or Canada for less than $3/month.

Third, even though we hadn’t talked for years, it seemed like yesterday. We reminisced about the good old days. We also caught up on our lives as they are now.

Those were good old days, too. While teams merely shake hands over here after a game, in England they usually end up going to the pub together.

Another thing that cemented our bond is that we were the pioneers of softball in Britain. It really hadn’t been going that long. Equipment was expensive. Just getting a field to play on was difficult. There were no backstops.

But we had fun and strong friendships were forged. It’s great to know that while they may have been dormant for awhile, they are still as strong as ever.