Here’s an update on this.

I wrote him later that morning. I reminded him who I was, and I included a very slightly modified version of the story as I wrote it here. And I told him that I wanted him to know how much that night meant to me.

The wonders of e-mail: not 25 minutes later, he wrote me back. Our first interaction in almost nine years, and it took no time at all.

He wrote that he does remember me and my “sudden flight from those steps that evening.” He then gave me a short rundown of his life over the past nine years. He’s gone through lots of hard times; he was surprisingly open with me about it. In fact, I was startled to realize that although I’ve thought about that night so many times that he’s attained mythic status in my mind, he was only human. Vulnerable.

The best part was the ending:

Anyhow, your complimentary journal entry just lifted my spirits, and I thank you very much for that. Your entry will resonate sweetly in my head for the remainder of the day.

Please keep in touch. You seem to have a good heart and mind.

Say something good to someone today.