These two very fine and good looking gentlemen recently entered into to some very exclusive territory ... they became my newest friends! Pat is the taller of the two and he's a full time resident of Pelican Bay, while the other is Ed from Indianapolis. Their connection is that Pat's daughter married Ed's son, hence the two are now officially connected as in-laws, but their connection is pretty gosh darned cool because they and their spouses are very close friends. I'm not sure how their children feel about that but I'm willing to wager that they're tickled pink, as the saying goes. The reason for our new found friendship is my Argon18 Dark Matter bike. I was just back from a ride and chose to go cool off in the outdoor shower by the pool. Pat was there and asked about my "steed". We had a short conversation about biking. A couple of days later, I was back at poolside after a ride and Ed, ever the extrovert as I have come to discover, was immediately curious, drew Pat into the conversation, and we shared a few moments about our common interests. Making the situation even better, after talking bikes for a bit, the two extended an invitation to join them in a couple of rides while Ed was in Naples both visiting Pat and vacationing in Marco Island. Our ensuing social rides allowed for the sharing of stories, opinions, and interests all leading to a wonderful opportunity to have people to connect with in various parts of the USA.
In these times of virtual financing, online banking, paying with plastic, and E-Commerce, there are those who I know that strongly believe a stash of wealth that endures the ebb and flow of financial tides while avoiding the whims of Wall and Bay Street using an investment in precious metals. Of course, the age-old question surrounds the choice of metal, be it silver, gold, or even the relative newcomer, platinum. Regardless, the sheen and lustre lures even the most seasoned investor.
My choice of metals is not unlike my choice of friends.
The golden oldies made decades ago, the silvery steadfasts from the tumultuous mid-life years, or newly minted platinums from recent times, it matters not as long as I figuratively shine them to a deep lustre with regularity. While I won't argue that wealth makes the choices of life easy, true riches are gained through by fostering friendships that support us as we navigate the hills and valleys of life, the true measurement of success. I have often shared that conversation with my wife as we enjoy each other's company on a walk or a ride, taking stock of the great relationships amassed through the various experiences of our years, and finding sincere gratitude for the assortment we possess that have each played a part in our life's journey.
I graduated from Queen's University in 1986 as a part of a pretty wondrous group that bucked all the odds when 102 of the accepted104 curious minds survived the adventures of 4 years in the School of Physical Education, a staggering success rate at the time. Bolstering our spectacular nature, we have all made the extra effort to return for Homecoming events in an effort to stay in touch over the past few decades. One of my old (I hope she doesn't mind me using that term) classmates recently reached out with an invitation to rekindle our friendship when she realized we would be escaping the ravages of a Canadian winter a few kilometres of each other down in the Sunshine State. Plans were made to share a beverage and a meal with our spouses and my mind was soon awash with images and snippets of those crazy years in Kingston, prompting me to reflect on how blessed I feel to have led a life with rewards such as this. Many, many thanks to Lindsay Healey ad her hubby Larry for reaching out, sharing their incredible personalities, and welcoming us into their list of acquaintances. We were enjoying the night so much that we neglected to get a decent photo to commemorate the night, resulting in a the poorly lit awkwardness of my darling wife.
Sorry honey!
Further to that point, my most steadfast, loyal, enduring friendships were forged in the tempest of intercollegiate football during our joint struggles to achieve the sports ultimate goal of a Vanier Cup. Every football team is subdivided into smaller groups of like-minded units like "O" (offense) vs "D" (defence) or "Hogs" (linemen) vs "Pretty Boys" (QBs and running backs), and it follows logically that our commonality creates deeper connections. I have written before about the escapades Shadillac (#55 Mike Schad), myself, Sammy (middle Sam Ashton), Frank (at the back Frank Kakouris), Arn (far right Steve Hudson) have found ourselves in as we rekindle those tight bonds from the early 80's. To this day, they are treasured, loyal buddies that I know have "my six", as the saying goes. This cursed pandemic has thrown the proverbial monkey wrench in the gears and we all can't wait for the thumbs up to get together again to share in all things Golden ... Gaels!
I wrote a while ago about the tragic loss of fellow hog John Larsen (
CLICK), furthering our yearning to get together regularly ... You never know when your time is up.
I've ruminated the past about the plethora of shared shenanigans in the trenches of education that created both shuddering giggles and full-on belly laughs thanks to the incredible people I have called colleagues, fortifying some of the relationships that through the years became near and dear to my heart. Listing some of the most influential ones is dicy because I run the risk of hurting feelings, but those from my years in room 119 at Central ... Ron Andrews, Pete Kalbfleisch, Sue Berardi, Brad Chestnut, Kyle Sweezey, Barb Sturrock ... certainly factor into the list process. Suffice it to say that there were many who graciously allowed me into the "inner circle" and positively affected both my day to day and my year to year. It will come as no surprise to those who know me that I reserve a sizeable portion of my heart for the relationships from those years and it brings be tremendous joy to share in their "graduations" as we slide from active duty to those cherished retirement years.
While it's obvious that friendships from my past hold immeasurable value, the ones that I have made recently have also brought me great satisfaction. It goes without saying that my twilight years at Barrie North gilded some passing acquaintances into deeper friendships, some of which directly result from changes in my focus as I fell for new-to-me passions like cycling, just like Pat and Ed whom you met earlier. I've shared some photos in other posts about my cycling buddies Kevin Simms, Jay Rothenburg (from Barrie North days) and Hardy Wind (from Barrie Central days), but in case you missed that post, the photo above shows one of my bike posses. Kevin is front right with the yellow on his helmet; Jay is beside him on the right; Hardy is mugging for the shot behind Jay. The other awesome gentlemen in the shot are Doug Woods at the front left and Sam Loucks next on the left behind Doug. This was early in my biking days ... seems weird to say that since I've only been serious for 2 years ... when this crew pushed me through my first 100km ride.
Getting back to my point, I am proud of my "wealth". I have amassed a wondrous number of friendships over my 58 years and I am proud of my success. They mean more to me than the traditional meaning of the word ... don't get me wrong, money is nice to have ... and I find a large number of my daily smiles are directly related to those relationships.
Of course, no diatribe about friends would be complete without acknowledging my bestest buddy of all, my darling and dead sexy wife Joyce. Retiring right before the pandemic may not have been the Master Plan, but it has forced us to spend a copious number of hours together and I'm pleased as a peacock to say that our friendship is the closest it's ever been.
Pandemic, Shmandemic. There's always a silver lining, eh?
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