Friday, May 18, 2007

Friday 55 & Da Count-Old Friends

FRIDAY 55*
*No, it's not even close to 55 words, but it's a conversation I had with my son when he was 5. So it's not even fiction, you'll live...
A little boy and his friend played and ran in the afternoon sun until it was time for dinner. Over the meal the child inquired, 'How long has he been my best friend?' His mother replied, 'Well, you've spent time together since you both were born.' Eyes brightened as the boy exclaimed, 'You mean he's been my best friend my WHOLE life?' In her mind's eye the mother saw baseball games, first cars, dorm rooms, two tuxedoed men standing at each other's weddings, backyard picnics with each other's families, decades of pranks and joys and sorrows, and two gray haired men reminiscing. She answered with a smile, 'Yes, sweetie. Treat each other right and that will really be something to say when you are an old man.'



DA COUNT
Last night at 9pm I got a call out of the blue. It was a voice I hadn't heard in at least 15 years. As soon as the caller said her name I cried out in shock to ask how she was. She was pleased and amused that I remembered her. She was calling to say that a group of folks Mr. Lime and I spent a lot of time with in college were planning a reunion for next month and they'd been trying to track us down for it. I wasn't terribly close to the one who actually called me but the prospect of seeing some of the folks I was close to but lost contact with was a happy one.

I've avoided my high school reunions like the plague and there is no childhood friend I keep in contact with but college was a special time and there are some folks from that time and place I'd love to reconnect with and others I am so grateful I have kept up with.

It's very strange to be having kids going to the prom and friends with children who are thinking about marriage, children I held when they were babies. I thought I was still a kid myself, wasn't I? But it's a very good thing to be able to sit with an old friend who knows you, whose history is intertwined with your own.


27 comments:

Mona said...

that is indeed a great 55!
good friends are hard to find & so we must value them!

airplanejayne said...

I loved the 55!! That needs to be put in the wedding speech of one of their weddings!!

EmBee said...

Rushing off this morning but I'm SO glad I took a few moments to catch today's blog... Brings on a rush of emotions and starting my day off with Simon & Garfunkle tunes make it a ***** (5)Star Day already!

javajazz said...

i love a bright rule breaker!
sweet story Lime, and most excellent for a Friday FF127 or so...

(i still like your funnystorywiththeruninwords a lot)

and i forgot what da count was until your site reminded me...i thought it meant counting how many words your FF127 was! (really!) okay, not really!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lime. I'm a Limey! Where are you from? Couldn't find your profile ... how did I find you now? O yeah. Via GMan via Pink Ginger. Via originally Dan the Man's. Hey I love the Simon & GarFunkel - so much in fact I nicked it for my videos collection. You can find that via my side bar "Gledwood's Other Blogs" or my profile ... of course I gave your link in acknowledgement ... now my mind's blanking out I had something to say about your post ... hang on a sec

Anonymous said...

... oh I dunno; my mind has floated through every conceivable thing today... o! btw re mortgage insurance you know they don't even cover for mental illness most of them (which of course includes stress, the most likely reason for being sicked off) - some try and exclude bad backs as well. You really wanna be careful if you do get tempted. I know victims of their carnage!

OK take it EZ
all the best

Gleds
"gledwood vol 2"

Anonymous said...

ps me & some other people were talking about sidebars the other day & I just noticed you haven't got one at all - how come-??

Anonymous said...

It is a wonderful thing keeping in touch with old friends.

S said...

Love the 55 Lime, and I dont ever count the words...
My oldest friend that I still know I met when I was 8 and she was 6; 38 years.


Those are beautiful S & G songs that you chose for this post....very appropriate.

Lookit Art singing Feeling Groovy with his arms crossed all laid back and stuff. Did he even have to try to get those notes out? He makes it look so easy.

One of my favorite LPs of all time is Art Garfunkels Breakaway....its fantastic.'

Have a great weekend, Lime

Anonymous said...

I love the 55 too!!

S said...

Oh no Lime You must wear an orange bikini! Since this is fantasy, we will all, of course, look fantastic in our bikinis with our absolutely perfect lavender bodies...oh, and green hair...erm...horns, yeah and all that!
LOL

You can bring the dashiki if'n ya get chilly!

lecram sinun said...

A beautiful tie in on the whole post. I'm so loving this emerging trend with the video/songs with posts. Cosima sent in that direction as well. :)

Yes, friends of old are wonderful touchstones of who we are and have become.

Cheers!

Kelly said...

I have had a couple of peeople try and get in touch with me. I don't think my school will have a reunion since it was shut down four years ago.

Rusty Nails said...

Ah, best friends. May they be that way 'til they're gray haired as you imagined. Thing One has a real good one. That makes me smile, too.

robkroese said...

One of my 2 best friends has been my friend since 1980. That's 27 years!

Anonymous said...

Thanxx for the message ...
but no!
Still no sidebar to be seen!! How odd. I take it you obviously had it at your end ... maybe it fell off in the mid-Atlantic ..?!!

RennyBA said...

Those were the days and the vid was a great reminder - thanks for sharing. I felt older, but then I was thinking wiser Hmmmm?

cathy said...

*No, it's not even close to 55 words, but it's a conversation I had with my son when he was 5. So it's not even fiction, you'll live...
Another great lime line for my collection. Great story too, being true just makes it better.

barman said...

MyUtopia ... my school was closed down for almost 25 years and we still have reunions.

This is super. My two best friends I have I met over 30 years ago. Most people I could care less if I saw them again or not but I do have a small handfull that I either keep in touch with or wish I could get back in touch with. Some are from High School, some various colleges, and some from old jobs. But out of all the people there are only a few special ones and that is all there will ever be. And yes it is great meeting up with a friend whose very lives so intertwined with yours even if only for a little while.

G-Man said...

Lime, I'm listening to these tunes while commenting at the same time!
Proud of me?...I'm feelin Groovy!!
Great story sweetie.....xox

(M)ary said...

(=: I hope you have a great time with your old friends. I liked the S&G you tube post. Love those guys. They sure do look young in that video! (-:

Jocelyn said...

Ah, your "fiction" is so poignant. Sigh.

And the whole college friends reunion business plays a profound role in my life, as well. Those years were so brightly lit...

KFarmer said...

I'm glad you are reunited- are you planning on going? If so, hope you have a great time and look forward to hearing the stories :)

SignGurl said...

That is the sweetest 55. I could picture what you were seeing.

Anonymous said...

Great post -- I did the 'aawwww' noise a lot when reading. Couldn't listen though -- speakers are weirding out.

It's also a wonderful thing when old friends start blogging so they can keep in touch with you.

Anonymous said...

I love Simon and Garfunkel. I play Sounds of Silence on the acoustic and one day, I worked at a company that actually had a sleep out in the woods. Someone brought and acoustic and we all sang that song. Good times.

Art Garfunkle wrote the music to Watership Down, which I really liked as a kid. I liked that one solo album Paul Simon did that had Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes on it. Forgot the name.

Cosima said...

One of the greatest joys is to see little children play together and having a good time.

I am hosting three friends of my son this afternoon... I hope we will have something similar to your Friday 55!