NEVER FORGET YOUR FRIENDS!

July 17, 2022

 

I originally posted this article on Facebook on July 17, 2015, and again today – in celebration of some one very special. 

Many years ago, a newlywed young man was sitting on a couch on a hot, humid day, sipping frozen juice during a visit to his father. As he talked about adult life, marriage, responsibilities, and obligations, the father thoughtfully stirred the ice cubes in his glass and cast a clear, sober look on his son.

"Never forget your friends," he advised, "they will become more important as you get older." "Regardless of how much you love your family and the children you happen to have, you will always need friends. Remember to go out with them occasionally, do activities with them, call them."

"What strange advice!" The young man thought. "I just entered the married world, I am an adult and surely my wife and the family that we will start will be everything I need to make sense of my life."

Yet he obeyed his father; Kept in touch with his friends and annually increased their number. Over the years, he became aware that his father knew what he was talking about. Inasmuch as time and nature carry out their designs and mysteries on a man, friends were the bulwarks of his life.

After 60 years of life, here is what he learned:

Time passes.

Life goes on.

The distance separates.

Children grow up.

Children cease to be children and become independent. And to the parents it breaks the heart but the children are separate of the parents. Grandchildren too grow up and begin busy lives with little time to spend with the older generation.

Jobs come and go.

Illusions, desires, attraction, sex ... weaken.

People do not do what they should do.

The heart breaks.

The parents die.

Colleagues forget the favors

The races are over.

But, true friends are always there, no matter how long or how many miles away they may be. A friend is never more distant than the reach of a phone, or a need, barring you, intervening in your favor, waiting for you with open arms or blessing your life.

When we started this adventure called LIFE, we did not know of the incredible joys or sorrows that were ahead. We did not know how much we would need from each other. Love your parents, take care of your children, but keep a group of good friends. Dialogue with them but do not impose your criteria.

Refer this text to friends who helped make sense of your life. I already did.

A SAILOR DIED TODAY!

 

Fair winds and following seas brother!

A SAILOR DIED TODAY!

He was getting old and paunchy

And his hair was falling fast,

And he sat around the Legion,

Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in.

And the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his shipmates;

They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors

His tales became a joke,

All his shipmates listened quietly

For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,

For he has passed away,

And the world's a little poorer

FOR A SAILOR DIED TODAY.

He won't be mourned by many,

Just his children and his wife.

For he lived an ordinary,

Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,

Going quietly on his way;

And the world won't note his passing,

'THO A SAILOR DIED TODAY.

When politicians leave this earth,

Their bodies lie in state,

While thousands note their passing,

And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories

From the time that they were young

But the passing of a Sailor

Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution

To the welfare of our land,

Some jerk who breaks his promise

And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow

Who in times of war and strife,

Goes off to serve his country

And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend

And the style in which he lives,

Are often disproportionate,

To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Sailor,

Who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal

And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians

With their compromise and their ploys,

Who won for us the freedom

That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,

With your enemies at hand,

Would you really want some cop-out,

With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Sailor--

His home, his country, his kin,

Just a common Sailor,

Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Sailor,

And his ranks are growing thin,

But his presence should remind us

We may need his likes again.

For when countries are in conflict,

We find the Sailor's part

Is to clean up all the troubles

That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor

While he's here to hear the praise,

Then at least let's give him homage

At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline

In the paper that might say:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,

A SAILOR DIED TODAY."

This was posted on Facebook on May 27, 2022, by Master Chief Peter T. Yeschenko. Thank you, Master Chief, for sharing.

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