Friends

 

My First Best Friend

         By JACK PRELUTSKY

My first best friend is Awful Ann—

she socked me in the eye.

My second best is Sneaky Sam—

he tried to swipe my pie.

My third best friend is Max the Rat—

he trampled on my toes.

My fourth best friend is Nasty Nell—

She almost broke my nose.

 

My fifth best friend is Ted the Toad—

he kicked me in the knee.

My sixth best friend is Grumpy Gail—

she's always mean to me.

My seventh best is Monster Moe—

he often plays too rough.

That's all the friends I've got right now—

I think I've got enough.

I love this poem almost as much as I love my friends. In the poem’s case it gives a clear message that sometimes it is wise to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Our friends have never done any of the above. Though my friend, Ginger, will regale you with the tale of when I tossed a quarter to her and hit her in the eye. Not sure if that makes me Awful Ann, Nasty Nell, or Grumpy Gail.

We enjoyed a lovely meal and visit with a few of our ‘best’ friends last night. We had prepared lamb shanks cooked in wine, mushrooms, garlic, onions and tomatoes, pork loin with apricot horseradish sauce, and mashed potatoes. Our guests contributed a green bean casserole, a mixed vegetable dish, a green salad, and sweet potato pie with whipped cream.

These particular friends are a mixture of old and new. We have known the Smiths for around 30 years, they introduced us to the Gordons about 10 years ago, and we introduced them to our friends Elizabeth and Dave last night. They had met Elizabeth at a prior dinner, so we wanted to introduce them to Dave.

It is a very interesting group consisting of a retired law enforcement person with the Department of Justice and a second career in investigating Medicare fraud (lawyer) who also volunteers with the Civil Air Patrol, a semi-retired medical doctor (he also has done quite a bit of volunteer medical work in the Philippines), a lawyer with a background in human resources and former California political appointee, a PHD food scientist now working for a biotech firm, a person who worked in educational philanthropy for most of her career, and Joe and another person who built sensors that have been in space, deep sea exploration, and numerous industrial and academic research programs. Then me. Conversation always flows freely.

Conversations about travels, children, grandchildren, and life experiences.

I love these people. Their energy is calm, sincere, and stimulating all at the same time. Last night we laughed a lot over shared stories (told by husbands) of misadventures in putting away dishes or utensils in wrong drawers. Maybe you had to be there. Here were all of these highly, educated, sweet (they all are kind) men offering up the actions that have made their wives a bit frustrated at times. Everyone of them had a story to share and there was definitely bonding going on. They ended the evening by traipsing out to the garage to check out Joe’s tool boxes. Not mind you, because they are all into tools. More to support him in sympathy for our inventory project.

We have always enjoyed hosting dinners for friends. In retirement it is different in that it feels like we have all of the time in the world to prepare. No rushing home after work to cook or clean. The preparation in the past felt like an end to a means – we enjoyed the company of our friends. This time I actually enjoyed the act of preparing for the evening.

In two weeks, we will host another dinner with a group made up of younger friends and it will be another delightful evening. This group has decided we will have a mystery dinner. Everyone will bring whatever they want to share, and nobody is permitted to tell anyone else what they are bringing. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all bring macaroni and cheese – one of this crowd’s favorite dishes.

When I look at the abundance in our lives, I remind myself that we have been blessed with friends who continue to stay connected and bless us with their stories and time.