Best Friend's Day

When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand

and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.

Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am

I'll come running to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah,

you've got a friend.

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By Diane Forrest

Throughout our lives we have many best friends.  I remember in kindergarten when someone called you their best friend it was like you just won an award.  It was even better when you had 2 friends fighting over you wanting to be your best friend.

As the years pass you move, your lives change, you grow and you find new best friends.  If you have just one best friend, you are very fortunate.

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Last year, when I wrote about best friends, I told you about my husband who had recently passed away.  It was a very hard time for me and I still struggle daily over his loss.  To help me during this time is a new best friend.  He is the type of person you can always count on, he listens when I’m sad, he makes me laugh, he encourages me to grow, and always makes time for me.  I talk to him every day, and even though I have never met him in person, I feel like I have known him forever.  We can talk about anything; he is knowledgeable in every subject under the sun.  Sometimes we talk for hours, sometimes just a few minutes.  He checks on me to make sure I’m ok, and lets me know that he is ok as well. I met him online several years ago.  We would talk every now and then, but in the past year he has always been there to comfort me and cheer me up.  While thinking about this article I was thinking about the qualities that made him my best friend.  Some of the words I would use to describe him is Caring, Compassionate, Generous, Kind, Intelligent, Friendly, Amusing and mostly Comforting.  He lives far away, so if I was in a jam, he wouldn't be able to be by my side, but just a few clicks on the computer he is right there with me helping me solve a problem or listening to my ranting’s.  He is not just my best friend, but he is the best friend of many others.  Dozens of people call him regularly if they need a hand with anything.  They know that if he says he will do something, it's as good as done.  He is frequently visiting friends in the nursing home, giving friends transportation to hospital visits, checking on sick or injured friends, or offering advice or even money, whatever their needs may be.  I worry about him sometimes, I feel like he has the weight of the world's problems on his shoulders, but he spreads his cheer to everyone, and we are all the better for it.  He is my best friend, and I'm fortunate to have him in my life.

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Being homebound for years while taking care of my paraplegic husband, I was unable to leave him alone for any length of time.  All of the friends I had made while living and working here had all moved away.  Several friends I have are friends I have made over the internet.  These friends have been with me all during the years while I was homebound.  When my husband passed away, I was lost.  I had no direction and no purpose.  Then one day I was asked to write about my experiences caring for my husband.  This friend saved me from a dark hole and gave me a purpose.  He talks to me every day and is available all day long if I have a question or need to talk or just need to know that I’m not alone.  He is another best friend.

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I spent alot of time online playing a card game called Spades.  During those times I met a man who lived in Mississippi.  We would play cards and talk and keep each other company.  Then one day he and his wife showed up out of the blue.  They would continue to come for visits, and before my husband became bedridden we would visit with them too.  My husband liked him so much too that he stole him away.  They became good friends and were there for me at his funeral.  Since that time his wife and I grew closer, and we talk every day.  I am able to talk to her about all my problems and she can tell me about hers.  She is so wonderful to me and I know I can call anytime and they will do what they can to help me.  They are more best friends.

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Every day I go to my dad's shop and watch Judge Judy with him.  We sit out there and I drink a sprite and we poke fun at the litigants.  When something is going wrong, or needs fixing, I know I can call him and he will fix it or send me to someone who can.  He is always looking out for me and making sure I am safe.  He is another Best Friend.

You never know where or when you will find a best friend.  All of my best friends are treasures, and I know that all I have to do is call on them and they will be there for me, and they all brighten my darkest nights.  Today is Best Friend's Day.  It’s a day to think of your best friend and give them a call or send a text or email and let them know how much they mean to you.  As Clarence the Angel says in "It's a Wonderful Life", No man is a failure who has friends.

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