On friendship
In light of this most charitable post by Charles - one that sincerely touched me because of his honest language and endorsement despite some obvious disagreements we may hold over any number of issues - I feel moved to briefly discuss how blessed I am with regard to friends I have made in my life.
I've been most fortunate in being able to meet and befriend a wide number of people who all share a wide variety of opinions. And, again, despite some obvious disagreements over theology or politics or (gasp) even sports, I feel that my life today is much better knowing these people.
For instance, take Xon, who is one of my oldest friends (length that is, not age). If you simply read our exchanges on these blogs and examine our vast disagreements over ideology, one would think we might actually be adversaries. Quite the contrary. I value him as one of my closest friends, despite the fact that we rarely see each other and only converse via our blogs and email. Even though I may disagree with his views, I understand where he's coming from and why he feels the way he does, and I hope he feels the same about me.
The same with Charles, who I also see way too little of. Though Charles is on the other end of the ideological spectrum (on the whole) from Xon, he is thoughtful, passionate and deliberate in articulating his views.
Along with Russ, we grew up together in Augusta and share a deep friendship. The few times we have been able to gather together in the past few years, it's as if we haven't missed a beat ... and we all tend to fall into our own little patterns that we thought long vanished (I'm the one with the temper, Russ makes inappropriate jokes, Xon and Charles loudly debate something, and so on and so on ...).
And, in addition to these old friends, as the addage goes, I have made new ones I treasure just as much. Matt and Ed have become two of my closest friends, so much so that our wives have started to refer them as 'the other spouse.' C. Trent and Marc have moved on, but I still enjoy seeing their names pop up on the blog here and there and miss having them around.
In college and through tailgating, I got to know Tim, Carrie, Meimi, Scott and a whole host of other people too numerous to mention, and the opportunity to see them each Saturday in the fall keeps me going on slow days during the week.
Hillary, Paul, Becky (before she left) and Carissa keep me sane at work and make me laugh each day without fail.
Disagreements and arguments with any of my friends still bring me pain. I remember having a fight with Russ during a beach trip a few years back, and I was so broken up with how I acted toward him that I moped around my house for a day, worrying that he'd never forgive me. Just recently, I had a brief spat with Matt, which led me to a day of misery that prompted The Wife to ultimately say 'just call him for crying out loud.'
And, speaking of her, this sappy little post won't be complete with a mention of The Wife, who is my everything. Back in college, we used to say that you know you had a crush on someone when you got the 'heart flutter' ... that is, you got a bit of that good nervous when he/she came in the room. To this day, more than eight years after we began dating and closing in on five years of marriage, I still get the heart flutter whenever I see her.
So there you have it. I'm too sentimental apparently for some odd reason, so forgive me.
I've been most fortunate in being able to meet and befriend a wide number of people who all share a wide variety of opinions. And, again, despite some obvious disagreements over theology or politics or (gasp) even sports, I feel that my life today is much better knowing these people.
For instance, take Xon, who is one of my oldest friends (length that is, not age). If you simply read our exchanges on these blogs and examine our vast disagreements over ideology, one would think we might actually be adversaries. Quite the contrary. I value him as one of my closest friends, despite the fact that we rarely see each other and only converse via our blogs and email. Even though I may disagree with his views, I understand where he's coming from and why he feels the way he does, and I hope he feels the same about me.
The same with Charles, who I also see way too little of. Though Charles is on the other end of the ideological spectrum (on the whole) from Xon, he is thoughtful, passionate and deliberate in articulating his views.
Along with Russ, we grew up together in Augusta and share a deep friendship. The few times we have been able to gather together in the past few years, it's as if we haven't missed a beat ... and we all tend to fall into our own little patterns that we thought long vanished (I'm the one with the temper, Russ makes inappropriate jokes, Xon and Charles loudly debate something, and so on and so on ...).
And, in addition to these old friends, as the addage goes, I have made new ones I treasure just as much. Matt and Ed have become two of my closest friends, so much so that our wives have started to refer them as 'the other spouse.' C. Trent and Marc have moved on, but I still enjoy seeing their names pop up on the blog here and there and miss having them around.
In college and through tailgating, I got to know Tim, Carrie, Meimi, Scott and a whole host of other people too numerous to mention, and the opportunity to see them each Saturday in the fall keeps me going on slow days during the week.
Hillary, Paul, Becky (before she left) and Carissa keep me sane at work and make me laugh each day without fail.
Disagreements and arguments with any of my friends still bring me pain. I remember having a fight with Russ during a beach trip a few years back, and I was so broken up with how I acted toward him that I moped around my house for a day, worrying that he'd never forgive me. Just recently, I had a brief spat with Matt, which led me to a day of misery that prompted The Wife to ultimately say 'just call him for crying out loud.'
And, speaking of her, this sappy little post won't be complete with a mention of The Wife, who is my everything. Back in college, we used to say that you know you had a crush on someone when you got the 'heart flutter' ... that is, you got a bit of that good nervous when he/she came in the room. To this day, more than eight years after we began dating and closing in on five years of marriage, I still get the heart flutter whenever I see her.
So there you have it. I'm too sentimental apparently for some odd reason, so forgive me.
posted by Jmac at 6:49 PM
11 Comments:
*Sniff Sniff* Love ya brother!
Although I will say shame on you for thinking I'd be mad at you for more than say 30 seconds.
Xon is the loud one. I just shake my head when he hits his stride.
And boy have I been hitting it the last couple of days in the office, eh? Must be the moon getting full...
I think you should use your words carefully, Xon.
That and stop being a racist.
But you do look like you were born to write Korean! Your penmanship when you put that phrase up on the board really was very good!
Note that keeping McGinty sane at work is a crucial, crucial job. I thank my stars that I have fine partners in that task. Otherwise we might have axe murdering on our hands. And no one wants to deal with that.
I mean the talk about "hitting it", you numbskull. What is done in the privacy of the office is nobody's business.
But, yeah. Born to write Korean. Good penmanship. Now all you need to do is say I'm articulate and a credit to my people.
Can we attribute Johnathan's ebb in sanity to the longer hair?
Sniff. Sniff. Johnathan, you are my favorite person to pour boiling hot oil on and beds with. And I am serious about that.
"Now all you need to do is say I'm articulate and a credit to my people."
Don't forget the small pee-pee!
Just trying to fulfill my role as the maker of inappropriate jokes, people. Chuck is hung like a zebra -- I'm still sore!
This still doesn't change the fact that you CAN NOT borrow my DVD of the first season of "Small Wonder"!
Ooops... I meant to say "Johnathan, you are my favorite person to pour boiling hot oil on ANT beds with." Long story involving a Fry Daddy, fire ants and Villa West, but my first comment sounded totally scandalous and a little kinky, didn't it?
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