There are shades of grey, after all

I've had an interesting exchange of e-mails over the past few days, with a friend of mine, someone I used to work with a dozen or so years ago, and who had visited us a few times during our early days in Cornwall, but who I'd rather lost touch with in recent times. His initial e-mail was an invitation to his Facebook page, but I've never been involved with Facebook, and have no intention of changing that situation - I'm more than happy to keep my real life and 'cyberlife' strictly separate. In my reply, I apologetically mentioned my aversion to my real self appearing online, and also took the opportunity to tell him about the demise of my marriage - he'd always got on well with my wife, and particularly with my daughter. I made a comment to the effect that I wasn't going to discuss the reasons for the parting of the ways, because I felt he would find it hard to come to terms with.
Why would I say such a thing? Because he was, in his younger days, avowedly and rather virulently homophobic. I sent the e-mail, expecting that to be the end of that. To my considerable surprise, he not only replied, but having picked up on the whys and wherefores of the situation from the clue I'd given him, has proven to be quite accepting of 'the new me' - well, the 'me' that's always been, but has been hidden hitherto. He's 'mellowed', he said, and I'm quite happy to find that I was wrong in my assessment of how he'd react. He was always someone who was very 'black and white' in his opinions, not just in his attitude to gays, but maybe his own, sadly, not very happy personal life over the past few years - he's gone through divorce himself - has brought him to see that there are two (or more) sides to many stories, and that there are few absolutes in life. He's suggested meeting up again, and I'd certainly be interested in doing so, although he's currently living back with his parents in what is far from being the most accessible part of the UK. I hope something can be arranged in the not too distant future.
A lesson to me, as much as anything else - people can change, and their views can evolve, and I shouldn't prejudge their reactions.

Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B