boyhood friends

the last two days have been draining to say the least. one of bob's childhood friends passed away unexpectedly and suddenly last week. i came home from work last week and bob explained what had happened. i could tell it really affected him. bob is lucky to have stayed close to his childhood friends. there were 3 in bob's grade, including him and 3 a year younger that all hung around together and still are close to this day. i find that unusual for men their age. it's been well over 55 years!

it was interesting to watch "the survivors" grow even closer these past 2 days. the visitation was yesterday and the funeral today. 2 of the guys stood up and spoke at the funeral on behalf of their "group." mostly it was humorous stories, tastefully told, of how they got caught drinking, and their many memories playing golf and camping over the years. it really added a nice levity to the service. the 3 children of bob's friend, ages 19-26 found these stories of their father fascinating. after the service was over everyone was invited back to bob's friend house and "the guys" sat in front of a video camera for at least a half hour and talked and shared many more memories of their friend for the family to have.

close friendships that last for as long as these friends have is really amazing to me. i have 2 close college friends, who know me better than anyone else, but i must say to have that friendship go back to as far as they can remember is remarkable.

nese, you are and will be missed by all your buddies. may you rest in peace.

p.s. i didn't forget you yesterday russ. i still miss you like crazy and love you. happy father's day ya big shit. You done good.