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An ode to two good friends August 16, 2003 ~ 9:54 p.m. This entry is dedicated to John and Rob, two great guys who embody the true spirit of friendship. BOSTON, U.S.A.�Regular, long-time readers of this diary may have noticed occasional references to two close friends I�ve got here. One of them I�ve mentioned several times�John (or Johnny). I�ve known John for 14 years, and I�ve seen much of him this vacation. He�s the sort of dude who will call you up, no matter how much he�s got on his agenda, and say �heeeey, how the hell are you, comin� over or what?� His personality is like an ocean whose waves just draw you in. But he does not possess a huge ego to go along with it. He is a big shot without trying to be, if you know what I mean. He is always there, always willing to listen and always full of good ideas. Then there�s Rob, whom I�ve known for most of my life, but have been regular friends with for about 16 years. He has just as engaging a personality, full of warmth and empathy and stories, but somehow gets lost in a world of his own, despite his extroverted ways. He does have a young daughter, Kristin, who he rightly devotes a lot of time to, but even when not looking after his pride and joy, he tends to �drift.� It may be months till you see him again even if you live just a block away from him. He goes into extended moments of meditation. He is either writing the best script to an angst-free life that I have yet to ever read or forming his own ground-breaking philosophy. No lie. Rob possesses an entire notebook full of his perspectives. A devout Christian, he sees himself as having �climbed new rungs on the ladder toward evolvement.� I take from this that he fancies himself a Kierkegaard of sorts. He�s also a hard worker, which explains why he�s a tough guy to catch a hold of. Much of time that I�ve been home, he has concentrated his energies into passing his exam for an electrician�s license and becoming a line manager for the telephone company repair unit. Ergo, I have only seen him once these past two weeks. I miss him, it seems, no matter whether I�m here or in England. Maybe I�ll get the chance to hang out with him more just after Christmas. But I think the main thing is having good friends, no matter how little or often you see them. I�m lucky to have them. Who would you rather have as a friend�someone who�s always around but you don�t trust very well (this in no way applies to John, whom I�d entrust my life to), or someone you rarely see anymore but who you could call up and would listen and help you out the best he could? To have �mates� to drink with, or solid friends whose company you would welcome even while sober? I know what my choice would be�and is. And as I board a plane back to London tomorrow afternoon, I�ll be thinking of those two and just what a positive impact on my life they�ve had. They�ve really pulled me out of some tough times in the past. Godspeed, fellas, and thank you. � M.E.M.
Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
AMERICA FOR TRUE AMERICANS!
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