Life is complicated, and if you are fortunate, you will have faithful friends and acquaintances to share and enrich shared experiences.  Most of these friends you develop early have become like family.  Unfortunately, to designate a person as a “best friend” is subjective by one’s criteria.  Many never have the privilege of having such a person in their life, which is sad.  I, on the other hand, am not one of those people. 

     I am not sure of the day we met.  I vaguely remember, but it might have been on the playground or in the gym, but it was in the fifth grade and at the beginning of the school year.  He had just moved to our town from “the city” ( in Borscht Belt vocabulary terms, there is only one “city,” and if I have to tell you which one it is, then stop reading now!  I can’t be explaining the obvious every five seconds.)  Hint we lived only 90 miles or an hour and a half from the GW Bridge, the entrance to the “city.”  (GW??  Stop reading NOW!!)

     We were in the same class but had different teachers, yet we found a magic spark or connection that brought us together.   We were not the most intelligent kids in the class, nor the dumbest.  Sometimes serious, often foolish, but most of the time laughing.  Laughing is a gift from God.  It will get you through some trying times and be the maraschino cherry on top of many life experiences.  We had an abundance of it and we needed it.

     I remember the day he first came to my home as if it was yesterday.  I was impatiently waiting for his arrival.  I told him to come over early to play; I was unsure if he understood my directions to get there.  I was looking out the front window every five seconds and pacing in between observing.  Sure enough, during one of those moments, I took a break from looking out came the by chance observation by Mom.  “Who is the young boy sitting in front of our house, and why is he here?”  I had not told anyone I had invited a friend over to play.  Why he was sitting there is a different story.  He thought he was too early and did not want to wake anyone.  Did I also say he was courteous?

Standing upright next to him was his two-wheeler with an actual kickstand.  Sweeeet!!  And to top it off he had a battery-operated high-powered chrome light mounted on his handlebars.  This kid was rich.

         Some time passed and etiquette dictated I go to his home, which was at that time across town, to meet his family.  His Mother and Father were very welcoming, as was his older sister.  Then there was his younger brother, who must have been a mistake as he was at least six years younger than him.  His greeting was a punch in the “family jewels” I received from the little bastard.  He did leave an impression, though, and I avoided him in the future as best I could.  I figured if I wanted to have offspring to carry on my legacy, it was prudent.

     From those moments forward, we became more and more inseparable.  If one might see one of us, the other was usually not far behind. So you would get two for the price of one.  As a result, we developed quite a reputation.  Even teachers thought we were shadows of each other. 

Over the years, I realized some people have brothers by blood, I was fortunate to have a brother by choice, and I will always be grateful for that.

     He passed away unexpectedly, at an early age, and some of me died with him.  The other part and memories still live on, and I will share some of them with you if you wish in future writings.   Prepare to laugh.