Friendships are precious things. My opinion is that one can never have enough
friends. But unwatched, time whittles
away at friends. Sometimes friends
vanish not just into other cities, towns, or countries, they die.
I had four friends when I was growing up. As far as I know they are all still
alive. Later, I had one special friend
when we were in the Army together. Her
name was Ma…Louise Marie. She died in
the seventies. College friends from the
1960’s are still with me tho those two are falling away. Before I met these special folks, there was
Bobbie.
One day I ran into our local 7/11
to get something, and there was a delightful but angry girl behind the
register. She was living with her
parents. I, who understood difficult parents,
invited her to live with us. Soon we
lost our jobs and started college on the GI Bill. I was 28 and she was 18. To pay our rent, we began renting out
rooms. Bobbie was our first renter.
Soon, Uncle Wonder-Ray sculpted in
the dining room, a sailor rented the first bedroom, Paul and I had another, the
kids still another, and Bobbie the last room.
The mailman jumped off our roof into the pool every day during the summer. When we moved to Imperial beach in search of
cheaper rent, we lost Uncle Wonder-Ray and the sailor, but we picked up a hard
core of radicals and other college students to bunk in the garage. Paul and Don started the San Diego Peace and
Freedom Party out of our garage.
Bobbie called us a commune. I thought of us as renting out rooms to pay
the rent.
Bobbie went away to fly the
skies. She married a cruel man in
Chicago. Later, she married a kind man
in LA. No matter what happened, even
through long quiet pauses, we remained friends until drugs and alcohol drove me
mad. She backed off then to save her own
sanity.
All my friends but one backed away
to save themselves.
Today, she’s grown back into my
life. She’s that special kind of friend
where we can continue right on where we left off in visits, conversations, or
calls. I could call her any time as
Mikey died; she could call me any time. Now
she’s growing on again into a new life.
A new quiet love too. He suits
her; perhaps her new flamboyance suits him.
My quiet person suits me well too.
Do Bobbie and I tell each other
everything. I don’t think so. We remain special friends without
barriers. I don’t think she has other friends
who tease her. I do. She orders me around and pokes me alive. That’s ok too. We talk art, music, theater, movies, travel
and art. What more could we ask of this special
friendship of 48 years.
What beautiful hair and a gorgeous face! I, too, have such a friend. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteMy friend Skerry and I have been friends since 1963. She's an artist and I'm not friendships can cross all sorts of boundaries.
ReplyDeleteI'm not, ...
ReplyDeleteSuch friends are "bookmark friends," with whom you can pick up again any time. My friend, "Bunny," has been my best friend since 1952.
ReplyDeleteIt is very special to have this type of friend. You are very blessed.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post on friendship and the difficulties we face in life. My friend had posted a comment of facebook about some troubles she was having. So I picked up the phone to call her, but left a message. She called back about an hour later, and told me she couldn't answer the phone,because seeing my name on her caller ID made her burst into tears. I think that was a good thing!?
ReplyDeleteThat is beyond precious. I am so glad for both of you!
ReplyDeleteShe's beautiful.....and I'm so glad you have a friend like that. I have a couple of sisters and a cousin and 2 friends I feel the same way about. They are very precious.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, here's a poem about various kinds of friendship. Take it with a grain of salt, but there is a reasonable thought in it.
ReplyDeletePeople come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime
https://www.facebook.com/notes/frankie-perezs-mindgym/reason-season-lifetime-poem/10150270924652782?ref=nf
Love this tribute to hills and valleys of a great friendship. Longstanding friends see your flaws and love you anyway. That is a gift.
ReplyDeleteGood gracious! What a gorgeous woman!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're right that friends are so precious, but we have to maintain them.