The friend’s dad who drove you to every away game never asked for gas money or thanks. Send it now.

You accumulate debts at that age without knowing you are accumulating them. A man you were not related to gave up dozens of Saturdays, put fuel in a car, sat in the cold watching a sport he did not care about, and never once suggested you owed him anything for it. At the time it looked like how the world simply works. It was a gift, and the window to say so is still open.

Send the message now rather than filing it as something nice to do eventually. Name a specific trip you remember.