A Lifelong Friend

My friend, John, called me yesterday asking me about his will and how he best might include me in it. I feel honored and privileged to be a part of that discussion.

I’ve known John since we were 10 year-old boys playing football on Woodlawn Road in Steubenville, Ohio. From the time my family moved to Woodlawn Road, down the street from John, our lives have been connected. Almost daily, we played football, basketball, wiffle ball, flipped baseball cards, and whatever else boys do together. In high school we frequently double-dated, and, as he reminded me, once we double-dated both nights of a weekend, simply switching dates from Friday night to Saturday night.

Our friendship has ebbed and flowed now for over 45 years, and, as time grows more precious, we feel more comfortable discussing the end of the road. We talk on the phone several times a week, still celebrating the victories of our favorite sports teams, commiserating their losses, or just generally staying connected with each other. Several times a year, I fly down to visit him at his second home in Florida and to get some r&r.

Good friends are few and far between. To have a friend like John is the gift of a lifetime.