Pick 22 - Friends

Everyone has friends and acquaintances. That is an essential part of human nature. Social media works because of this. Otherwise, why would so many of us spend so much time on-line following the Facebook and Twitter posts from friends and even celebrities who are total strangers to us. No hidden value there. But a closer look at the people I have friended over the years--some before the Internet age--reveals a hidden value in some of them. My best friend from childhood is like that. From grade 7 to high school graduation we did everything together. This included good pursuits like prepping each other for final exams and some mischief I won't disclose here. (My kids may be reading this.)  When we each went away to different colleges then different career tracks, years went by with no contact except for a few letter exchanges. But when we both decided to attend our 10th high school reunion, we connected immediately. It was like the playbook of our lives had been Paused for a few seconds and then the Play button was hit. Neither of us had changed our political views. He was always Liberal and I was Conservative both in life and at the voting booth. We were in high school when JFK became President and we spent hours arguing about social vs. responsibility.  We picked up the same discussion at our recent get-together. "Same tree--different monkeys" is the way he summed up the current political battles. I had to agree. Not with the assessment but with him. Even though he is actually a year younger, his Irish-German heritage makes it extremely difficult for him to concede any argument with me. That may very well be the hidden value in our friendship. The special connection we had in childhood is still there and ready to reactivate at the press of a button.

$tokens to Tip the Pickers

1 $token - 1.00 USD3 $tokens - 3.00 USD5 $tokens - 5 USD 12345