The Unanswered Knock of Love,pt IX: One Real Friend.

When Dr. Keith Ablow was on the show last week, one of the issues we discussed was relationships/friendships, *real*ationships, not superficial ones. Maybe because I am getting older, but the *real*ationships are becoming more and more important. I was thinking about this when reading the N.Y.Times early this morning which has the usual pre-father's day wristwatch ads-lots of them. The NTX wristwatch ads were the inspiration for a previous blog :What Time Is It/03 December 06. which I can summarize as: * what would you do w/your time if you knew your
*expiration date* .
Yesterday, after working out, I walked around the track to cool down. There were two women also walking the track. Each time we lapped each other, I overheard a bit of their conversation. What I heard was conversations of some depth-not Paris Hiltonisms.
After my last lap, I approached them and said: *" I overheard a bit of your conversations and you two seem like close friends. Would you mind telling me a little about your friendship and how it is important to you both."* These ladies told me that they've been friends since their ages were counted on their fingers. They told me the importance of making time,not just to talk w/each other, but to see each other too. They told me that they can ,and do, talk about anything and everything. We also chatted about superficial relationships and how they are"...ok,but I remember something that my grandmother told me..." the one young lady said. "Grandma told me that if you are lucky you go through life with one real friend." Hmmm, one *REAL* friend. Then things got even a bit stranger. After working out, I stopped by an area assisted living centre that I frequent. I was talking w/one of the employees only to find that she was having a difficult day. She had been thinking about the recent passing of her best friend, her husband of 36 years. With tears streaming down her face, she said," You have no idea what it's like to come home,open the door and your best friend's not there and not coming home again-ever...". No, I don't know what that's like and don't want to know-ever. -Oh, and then there's my 90 yr old aunt who says that the punishment of living so long is out living,burying, all of your friends, but "...I can still sit on my back porch and somehow be amazed by the beauty and symmetry of a tree."

Ok, so what's the message?

Well, relationships,friendships, are like flowers. If we water them, fertilize them, weed around them...you know-care about and for them, they'll grow and blossom into something so special that we'll never want to be away or too far from them---and when that inevitable day comes , we'll know that we invested the time and care to grow such a wondrous, beautiful relationship, that although our friend is gone, the beauty still remains-remains in our heart.

~Louie b.
completed 12.June.07


















note:If I continue to do these, I'm going to need to re-learn the Roman numeral system