Friday, March 29, 2024

True friends worth far more than ordinary treasures

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Had a good phone conversation with an old friend of mine this past week. We met 25 years ago in the horse business and we have been close friends ever since. It is the kind of friendship where we don’t talk or see each other every week but whenever we do come into contact, we are right back in that “same place” we were in the last time we were together.

Some folks expect life to be a smooth ride, but it would be best to describe Jim’s and my shared lives as “major league four wheeling”; lots of rough bouncing up and down and getting tossed all over the place!

Over the years, we congratulated each other when our favorite cutting horse, Elan’s Playboy, won the AQHA World Championship.

We shared the photo when his great horse Smart Chic Olena was inducted into the NRIIA Hall of Fame.

We endured the pain of failed businesses, bad personal relationships, financial collapse, family issues, and health.

We have shared our deepest fears with each other and opened our hearts to accept the other for their inherent good qualities and ignored the shortcomings.

Jim passed out his wisdom about horses to me like so much Halloween candy, making me a better horseman and judge of horseflesh.

He asked for my help when the world was crumbling down around him, and he thought I had the skill set to pull him through; and I did!

Now, we can laugh about the tough times and we savor all the good times. Make no mistake; we are true campaneros. Friends to the end!

When you sit down tonight and take a second to reflect on the day, remember your friends and the things you have shared. I think the iron bar of friendship between Jim and I is worth more than all the gold in Fort Knox. Hope you feel that way about a friend or two yourself.

Getting closer to Thanksgiving and with the COVID, a lot of family activities are going to curtailed or at least abbreviated. It is tough to swallow that some “germ” has changed how we will interact on a holiday.

I participated in a free Thanksgiving feed for many years, and what I found is that many of the people who showed up did not do so because they could not afford food. They showed up because they did not want to be alone.

I hope this year all of us will keep in mind those folks who need companionship and include them in Thanksgiving, but do so in a safe manner. No one should be lonely!

Thought for the day: How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges? Until next time...