Columnist reflects on old classmates' breakfasts and living in the moment

A Mindanao Times columnist argues that the regular gatherings of old friends hold more meaning than outsiders may assume, drawing on monthly breakfasts with classmates from High School Batch 71.

According to the column, published under the title "In the moment," the group meets for breakfast every first Friday. The writer says people outside the circle often react with surprise and quiet admiration at seeing the same faces from high school still together decades later. A younger friend named Dada called it a show of "loyalty and endurance," likening it to staying married to one person for seventy years.

The columnist notes that groups of older men gathering in mall coffee shops have become an ordinary sight, and recalls the saying that birds of a feather flock together. A nephew once teased the writer about still hunting for topics to discuss after seventy years.

The writer argues it is not that simple. Comparing the gatherings to performing the same song night after night, the columnist says each retelling of an old high school joke or story differs because the context, emotions and circumstances change. The writer adds that much of what matters at the table lies in what goes unsaid.

The column closes by describing the breakfasts as a kind of ritual: being fully present in the room, letting the mind settle, and setting aside outside concerns for a while.