Do you think it's possible for two very different people to be friends?

On facebook I recently started talking to someone I knew in high school. He and I dated in eighth grade and broke up our freshman year, but we remained friends in high school. We hadn't spoken to each other in 10 years until a few weeks ago. The two of us went down very different paths in life. I am working on my PhD and he is a truck driver. When we talk online, the conversations are interesting, and we have emailed each other quite a bit lately. I would really like to meet him in person, but we have such different lives now. Do you think it would be awkward for us to go out to lunch or meet for coffee? Do you think if I asked him to meet me, he would think I am trying to pursue him romantically since we were high school sweethearts? Both of us are single at the moment, so I don't want to send the wrong message. I am honestly just interested in friendship. My best friend suggested that my old friend wouldn't understand that I wanted a platonic relationship because of our history, but I think that is untrue. Do you think it is possible for two old friends to hang out despite the fact that they now have little in common?