Old Wisdom

I watched Karate Kid for the first time a few weekends ago. It was always on my list but never made it till now. Much of Mr. Miyagi's wisdom, I had heard over the years so there was a sense of comfortable familiarity. This is a movie I should have watched with J when she was a kid. That was the first thought that crossed my mind but it was a wonderful experience anyway. When Mr. Miyagi cheers "Banzai!" as Daniel drives off in his car, I found myself remembering a guy from a few decades ago who came into my life for a few months during a difficult time. He was a clinical research physician and had a lot of interesting stories about life in drug discovery and startups in that space. This was a world I knew nothing about and enjoyed learning about from him. I was not able to recall any part of his name after all this time. But the movie brought back some memories. 

He owned a convertible which was polished to high gloss at all times. Taking care of that car was like his second job. He signed off emails with "Banzai!". Often he shared nuggets of wisdom with me in the style of Mr. Miyagi. Some of that was useful tactically because I needed to make decisions based on what was in front of me. He was a decade older than me and had a lot more life experience in those years. We were both single at the time but it became evident early on that we would not work out well in a relationship. He enjoyed being a coach and a mentor - something I needed at the time. I did not see a romantic partner in him and that made it easy to ask for advice. He got a job at his dream company and moved on about six months after we'd first met. We kept in touch occasionally and finally drifted apart. After the movie. I tried to recall any bit of enduring wisdom that I received from him. Nothing came to mind.