current | archives | profile | notes | contact | rings | host




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.

[Sign My Guestbook] [View My Guestbook]
Powered by E-Guestbooks Server.

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.

Old Cinders | Fresh Fire

AMERICA FOR TRUE AMERICANS!

-