Life is a circular thing, taking us places we never thought we would go, only to bring us back again to where we started.

When the return trip happens, it is an easy thing to be reflective upon how you left things the last time you were there. Suddenly you realize that a decade has gone by, and all that time you’ve owed someone an apology.

Odysseus returned to his share of unfinished business – people he owed money, friends he had slighted and hearts he had broken – and many new troubles that had grown from it.

While I’m sure that nothing so dire as wiping out a generation or two of men awaits you, there is certain to be someone that sees you in the grocery store and thinks “what is he doing here?” and pretends not to see you.

With such thoughts in mind, I remembered an old friend that I had wronged. It was completely unintentional at the time, but that doesn’t change the outcome, or my responsibility for it. Moreover, when someone makes life decisions in the wake of my actions, I bear some onus for the consequences. My name is Earl.

Fortunately, things worked out well for my friend, and I was surprised at how relieved I was to hear it. We carry tiny weights for so long, that we forget we’re even holding them, until we put them down. But when we finally do, everything else seems lighter.

To whom do you owe an apology?