Friends....

Sometimes, it is necessary to step back from the craziness that is our world and take a look at those things that affect us in the heart and soul. It is also sometime necessary to stop and look at those things that mean more to us personally then we realize. This is one of those occasions.

For those of you who read my blog from China, which seems to be more than just a few, I hope that you’ll understand that this week’s blog is not political and it is not a rant against what I feel is wrong with America. It’s about friendship and those friends who make a difference in your life. This is what this week’s blog is about, friends and loss.

I don’t usually allow myself to many friends. This because those few special friends that have been a part of my life and who have had a profound effect on me, have a tendency to die and leave me alone with the memories of a special friendship that had a profound effect on my life. Not many people can lay claim to having one friend like that. I have been fortunate enough to have four.

Over the years I have come to realize that those kind of friends are rare and far between, and now I find that I must stand with one of those friends whose wife fought an incredible battle against a disease called mesothelioma. When Judy was first diagnosed with the disease the doctors gave her fourteen months to live. In an act of incredible will power she announced that she would live to see both of her children graduate from High School before she died. She did. She lived for an incredible eight years before her death this past week. She was surrounded by her family and children at the end.  

My chief concern at this point if my friend Mike and his children. I believe in God, but no matter what priest or pastors say about the dead, it is the living who have to deal with the loss of a loved one, and Judy was well loved by her family and her friends. Her loss is being deeply felt at this very moment.

I guess that my message to all of you is this: Love your friends and care for them. Be there for them if they need you, and don’t worry about what it might cost you in time or even money if it required. Friends, true friends are worth it. I know, because I have lost so many and no matter how hard I try god seems to keep sending them my way for whatever reason he might have. Friends, true friends, are like rare jewels, to be hoarded and admired. They know the true you and ignore the rumors and comments that may be said of you. Mike is one of those people, and I cherish my friendship with him. My heart bleeds for his pain and the pain of his children.

Remember your friends. Call them and let them know how special they are to you. You may never have another chance to do so, because life is such that they could be taken from you at any moment.