An Ode to Friendship.

Tonight--the third of January, 2006--friendships claimed their rightful place as the most joyful part of my life. Truthfully, I should reflect more often on the quality and significance of my friends. What greater gift has been given on this earth? Romantic love is in a category of its own; but what is romantic love if not the pairing of deep friendship and its physical expression?

Tonight, however, I give thanks for platonic friendships. The fine gentlemen with whom I shared this evening have been close since our sixteenth birthdays arrived with their promise of first-car freedom. High school served us with the formative years of our friendships. We waded through the endless bouts of high school drama, and we shared the savory taste of intramural glory. And we'll never forget our forays into petty vandalism. Since high school--heartbreaks, victories, changes--we've shared them all. In my understanding, our group is an anomaly. Very few of my college friends (and dear friends they are) share a similar treasure. Each semester ends; I pack up and head home. And home is a blessing--I am insatiably indebted to my ever-loving family--but how many of my college friends cant wait to see there high school buddies? So after enjoying my family's company, my mind turns to the reunion of "the boys."

As I have often said, there is no place I would rather be than at the lakehouse, with the boys, on the dock, smoking a cigar, (having a beer...helllooo 21)--talking about life, love, God, and the meaning of life. Sound cliche? Come sometime. Its not. There is no room for cliche. Either the dock is too small, or we are too tight.

Winding roads hide the lake and disconnect it from the outside world. Being in each other's company sheds any pressures or strains. All pretense is lost as we tell the same stories, and occasionally stumble into a new one. Its the comfort of these friends that yields real laughter--the kind from way down inside--the kind that shakes the dock and sends ripples out over the lake. What joy there is in friendship!