What's That You Say, Mr. Robinson?

The last time I saw Jim Robinson, we were in our early 20s, still in school. I'd met Jim at the University of Alberta during my second year of university and his first; we stayed on the same floor in Kelsey Hall. Jim completed his education at the University of Calgary, so we really only shared the university experience for one year - but what a memorable one. I wound up visiting Jim in Calgary a year after he left Edmonton, but since then our paths went in different directions...until tonight. Jim reached out to me on LinkedIn a couple of days ago, so we met up to share some memories and bring ourselves up to speed on what had happened to us in the intervening years.

Naturally, I told Jim about Sylvia and developing a writing career and all the stuff you've seen on this blog, while Jim shared his exotic adventures in China, where he met his wife (another Canadian, from Ontario), and stories about his young family, mutual friends, and of course the incredible changes in politics and technology that have taken place over the course of the intervening years. It was very gratifying to discover that the connection we had back in university has stood the test of time; it felt very natural to slip into conversation with Jim, something that doesn't always happen when people have been separated by a gulf of years.

It was great to catch up with Jim, and we've made plans to meet in Calgary or Edmonton or both in the near future. To wrap this up, let's have a look at the last time I saw Jim, way back in Calgary in 1989...