Funny how memory works

I was browsing a website I read regularly a while ago, and the post I saw, rather tangentially in terms of their usual fare, mentioned fossil hunting. Given that I was (and still am, being honest) a bit of a nerd, I joined the school Natural History Club when I was 13-ish, being a member for a couple of years. It was mostly conducted during lunchtime break (which was beneficial sometimes, especially in the winter, when you could stay indoors rather being chucked out in the cold!), but there were a couple of Saturday 'field trips', too, cheap enough for my parents to afford the cost. One of them was to a place well known for finding fossils, so I was very keen to go. It was Springtime, and it was a nice day, weather-wise, too, but it had been pretty wet earlier in the week, so the hillside we were investigating rapidly became a carbon copy of The Somme - I've never been so muddy in my life, as far as I can remember. But that wasn't the most memorable element of the day, though, hence the post title. I ended up working with a guy, who I knew by sight, but soon became friendly with that day. And he was utterly gorgeous! I was barely 14 then (he was two years younger) and was starting to realise (hazily) that I might’ve been, by the vernacular of the times, 'a poof', so, needless to say, I didn't do or say anything to out myself - I'd have been lynched, probably - but I spent the afternoon doe-eyed, to say the least. Nothing substantial happened later, either, in terms of our 'relationship', but we stayed 'mates', loosely, until I left the school when I finished my A-Levels in 1978. And that was it, I've never thought about him again (although I recall, very vaguely, one of my long-term friends from school mentioning him some time in the 80's), until today. He'll be 57/58 now, I've no idea what he's doing now or where he lives, but I hope he's had a good life. Better than mine, certainly. But the vagaries of memory can still recall the beautiful boy I remember, all those years ago.

Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B