Friends

With this virus stuff going on, it's been harder to stay in touch with both family and friends. One of my good friends lives in Cape and is a tad older than me, so both of us have been extra careful to stay away from places we might catch the virus. So we skip the crowds and the close contact. The other day we got together at an event, and it was enjoyable. We had to shake hands even. It was 90 degrees in the shade, but I'd made a couple thermoses of coffee so we shared some Costa Rica coffee.

Friendship today with the virus takes on a whole new significance, or at least it does for me. I went to a friend's house the other day, and we sat in the same room and visited. We may have been 4 or 5 feet apart at the most. Both of us have compromised immune and health systems. If either one of us would get the virus, the outcome would not be good to say the least. And my thought was in a very real way, we are trusting our lives to each other's carefulness to not get the virus. I'm trusting him, and he's trusting me. Isn't that what real friendship is? I don't mean acquaintance friendship, but real down deep friendship.

Friends come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big, and others small. Some are tall, and others short. Some are guys, and some are gals. Some are old, and some young. Some are Black, and some white and some brown. Most of the time our physical appearance isn't the reason we are friends. For some reason, we are just friends. One can call them acquaintances, if you will, and most are just that. They will remain just acquaintances. But then there are a very few that will be close friends.

Most of us when we are born have friends of the family. Friends of our parents and other siblings and even friends of kinfolk and neighbors. So we start out with a readymade batch of friends. Some we claim, and some we deny are even friends. They are just friends simply because we were born into their friendship.

My dad seemed to know pretty much everyone who lived in the Sandhills of Nebraska, so his friends became my friends. The Sandhills is a large area of land making up about a quarter of the state of Nebraska. These Sandhills were designated a National Natural Landmark back in 1984. It is an area of prairie where the natural grass that grows there stabilizes the sand hills or dunes. This area is the largest area of sand stabilized dunes in world. Below these Sandhills is the Ogallala aquifer which provides the Sandhills with some of the best and cleanest water in the world. Some time when you are bored, check it out on the internet. An awesome movie about the Sandhills is "Ocean of Grass." Anyway, Dad seemed to know about everyone in this part of Nebraska. So, as a result, I was friends with people I'd never met. Dad was 47 when I was born so most of this group were old geezers when I came along.

Every now and then, Dad would get a hankering to go visit, so we'd usually pack up a lunch and head out after the cows were milked and the chores done. But even then it was early. Probably not much after sunrise. And it was a long ways to anywhere from where we lived in Nebraska. It was about 40 miles north to Hyannis or 40 east to Tryon or 40 south to Ogallala. Most of Dad's friends were way beyond Hyannis and Tryon or Ogallala. So it was a two- or three-hour trip to anywhere. But it was worth it. It was to see some friends. But the funny thing was Dad would meet friends getting to where he was going. So he'd end up visiting with friends getting to the friends to visit. It's neat how some of the kids of these Dad used to go visit are now friends of mine.

Kind of neat how one can make friends using Facebook. I have several friends who I've never met and probably never will, and we met on Facebook. Some of these I hear from daily. I would love to go visit someday. Many of my friends I stay in contact with over Facebook. We have similar interests so this is the point of connection. I've met friends that focused around coffee. Many friends are focused around gardening. Many are focused around ministerial training and being a pastor. Distance makes it impossible to stay in close contact, but Facebook removes the distance.

Down through the years I've met and made friends through this article. Some have gone out of their way to come and meet my wife and me and visit. One new friend of mine that we just met said meeting me was on his bucket list. I'm flattered. One thing I wish I'd done way back then was to write down their names and contact info. I am terrible with names, so I don't have a clue as to their names. I am terrible with names. Terrible. Some have said to try harder and it doesn't work. I have mental pictures of them, but no names. So if we meet at a market or on the street or in a restaurant, I'll remember you, but not your name. Reintroduce yourself. Write down your name for me.

Being friends has benefits. Friends are there when things head south and times get rough. Family will usually be there, but there are times when friends are way more dependable then family. Friends will be there when you need a shoulder to lean on or just an ear to sound off to. Friends will be there to hear us rant and rage and sound off to. When things get rough friends will be there for us.

Friendship has costs though as well. Making our heart vulnerable or letting our heart get vulnerable to being hurt might cost us. Anyone who has gotten a dog as a family pet will eventually experience loss. The loss of a pet is a heart-wrenching loss. So is the loss of a good friend. The death of a good friend leaves a hole in our heart that only they can fill. We miss them. Friendship may cost us time. A friend may need our help and it may upset the plans we have made.

In the days ahead a good friend may be our most valuable asset. Choose them wisely with a bit of heavenly wisdom.