Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, both songsters, left the stage for eternity after singing so many hits together. “Islands in the Stream” is one of them.
And perhaps another meaningful song of theirs is “You can’t make old friends,” which talks about ‘friendship.
‘When somebody knocks at the door
Someone new walks in
I will smile and shake their hands
But you can’t make old friends.’
It’s a catchy tune about old friendships, and Kenny and Dolly were friends for 40 years. But you know what? Often “new” friends can add some fond moments of friendship along this path too.
Encounters with people of all walks can add a touch of essence down this trail of wonder.
After my wife, Sheila, left this world for paradise, a good friend came into my life who provided a certain therapy for me along this long journey.
Ken was a fellow with a ’57 Chevy. One of my favorite pictures shows him and my wife, Sheila, standing in front of the Dunker church at the Antietam battlefield.
Ken and I have traveled to his favorite town of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, on many occasions, and he has been a tour guide of that area. The nearby Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and many other sites there are most beautiful and interesting.
The friendships he has made over the years with Wellsboro locals are priceless, and I have become a member of that clan. Nothing quite like a good trip with a good friend! We often play an Eagles CD on our trips, and “Take it Easy” is one of our favorite songs.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once reminded us, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
Dale is another good friend. He has a pretty interesting resume too. I met him at a Torch club meeting where he and his wife attended.
Dale became a new friend too. He and his brother, Obie, enjoyed my weekly columns, and we would often discuss them. Dale was once a race car driver back in the years of racing in Hagerstown, but his real claim to fame was the “magic” he worked in photography with his camera over the years.
He was a perfectionist. He’s taken thousands of wedding pictures, and even pictures of Miss Maryland contestants in many venues as a corporate photographer.
He gave a presentation of his art work at a Torch club meeting, with a show and tell, that was most interesting; his photographs displayed and discussed were “spellbinding” to me.
Dale, too, lost his wife, Regina, and we recently had lunch at the Velvet Café in Waynesboro. His order was a bowl of soup, hot dog and his favorite chocolate milkshake. Our conversation was the dessert on this day.
Herodotus, the Greek historian, offered his take on friendship too ~ “Of all possessions, a friend is the most precious.”
Easy Ed is another good friend who I became acquainted with as a result of my columns in the newspaper. We began our friendship journey through emails which progressed into sunroom conversations at his home in the north kingdom of Washington County. His beautiful wife Jo Ann is a most fine hostess.
As I believe many events in life represent a connection of dots, Ed and I had some things in common. We were both soldiers in Vietnam at the same time but did not know each other; we too enjoy travels.
Our meetings simply evolved into many discussions of life; we would sit for hours engaged in conversation about many subjects.
I introduced him to the fine dining of Dargan morel mushrooms. Easy Ed was a world traveler after his military career. His interest in ocean diving took him to many different and exotic ports of the world, and he wrote elegantly about each of them.
He has a keen interest in literature too. One of his favorite books is Kipling’s “Kim,” which tells of a young boy’s travels along the Grand Trunk Road of India with a Holy man.
And my good pal has even compared our own journey to that of Kim and the Holy man. I’ve been immersed in Ed’s wisdom for years, of his travels, adventures and knowledge. He once even compared me to Mahatma Gandhi, an awe-inspiring compliment.
But in summary of my friendship story, I might share with you Winnie the Pooh’s very own discovery:
“A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.”
The real sweetness of life then?
A good friend.
Be one!
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