Friends

Friends…

We all had friends growing up. Some were better than others. Some were considered “best” while others were just “pals.” I had my little circle of friends: Bryan, Rod, Joe, Malcolm, Rico, Dan and more…I remember them all with great fun and admiration. Playing outside was what my friends and I did...all of the time. We had black and white TVs, baseball, trees to climb...we had it all. We never had a problem drinking out of the water hose or just hanging...we didn't have computer games, Wii or anything else...we just had each other.

As you get older, you lose track of your friends. Regrettably, I did so when I left Plainview for the Navy some 31 years ago. Some I’ve kept in contact with…sadly, others I have not. As an adult and with moving all over the world, I have had pockets of friends scattered everywhere.

Bryan was my best man at my wedding…we’ve stayed in touch and even had dinner with him and Jon in DC while the kids and I were there for New Years. We grew up in Plainview and went to the same church. We did things growing up that Mom still doesn’t know about…no, Mom, I will not go there.

Tim, my golfing buddy, confidant and prayer-warrior is my dear friend that I met in Sicily. He’s a Navy chaplain and I admire him and his family…they have adopted me per se and we hang out whenever we can. We are finally stationed together where we can just go over and chill. I'd say he is my closest friend at this time in my life since I know I can call him up and just chat...off-the-record, unconditional, and any time.

Sadly, this week, one of my dearest childhood friends, Rod Fennell, passed away in Dallas due to a sudden illness.

I don’t know why it happened and I don’t understand it.

I first met Rod in kindergarten at St. Mark’s Episcopal School near the 7^th Street Park in Plainview. His dad, Romey, Jr., and mine, Frank were friends, so of course, like dads, sons became friends as well.

Rod was smart, funny and a great friend. We had a fort on the roof of his parent’s garage (which his dad wasn’t too happy about us nailing a 2x4 ladder on the side of the garage but we did it anyway). We would go up there and just hang out and talk…we would watch the world pass us by. We would sleep over at each other’s house all of the time…his parents were my second parents. I still call her Mama Fennell. His dad could grill like no one I’ve ever known.

He played the trombone in high school and also played football. With me being the scrawny kid, he was the muscle. Fast. Strong. Always a perfectionist…he definitely practiced his music more than me! He was also a better student than me…but I won’t go there!

After high school, I left for the Navy and he went to Tech…occasionally running into each other over the years but the last time I saw him was at my Dad’s funeral. Mama Fennell and Rod came and we shared hugs, laughs and memories. It was so good to see him and he hadn’t changed a bit.

Rod was a great man and friend. Rod, you will be missed.

Sometimes in life, we spend more time spinning our wheels and not cherishing the moments we have with each other.

Cherish the friendships you have both past and present.

Cherish the memories of those friendships.

Life-long friends are made a day at a time.