Friends

     I read some where that if you have one friend you can count on, you are truly lucky.
Most of us have many people we know and we call them friend, but are they really. People have a tendency to offer to volunteer to help when you have a problem or if you are going through a rough time, it is human nature, to do this.
     I have been very fortunate in my lifetime to have made friends with two people who as some would like to say, " I would pick them to go into battle with".
     The first person is someone I met in the first grade, and to this day, 54 years later we are still friends. We have been to each others home and shared in the joys of our childrens highs and lows. We talk on the phone and constantly get together to play golf
or go out to dinner.  He is the same person today as he was in the first grade. He is very
sociable and dependable and always seems to have a smile on his face.  He can be counted on whenever and wherever he is needed.
     The other person is someone I met in the Marine Corps. We met in California, in 1970 and we have been friends ever since. He also has shared good times and bad times with me. We toasted the birth of my daughter together and unfortunately we cried together at the death of his son. He lives in Florida, but we never miss a beat when we talk to each other on the phone.
     It is said that friends don't have to see each other every day or talk every day.  Most of the time that is the case with these two men. I was told by one that he considered me a brother he never had. He really meant it, and when I think about it, I do consider him my brother.
     These two men will always have a place in my life, and I will always be there for them as I know they will be there for me. 
    I am very lucky to have a great wife and a great family, but I am also lucky and thankful for having two people I can call FRIEND.