Endearing Friendship

During the heyday of cigarette advertising, one of the famous slogans was “I’d walk a mile for a camel.” My question to you is: “how far would you walk for a friend?”

When I went to the East Coast for a special wedding early this month, I invited my closest friends to join me. These were my college buddies who I’ve kept in touch with over the years. We were all part of a singing group. Somehow our paths crossed during an impressionable phase of all our lives and we needed each other to make sense of the world. Our friendship was so strong that even if the world came apart it wouldn’t have mattered because we had each other. This was our “Hangover” movie in real life. Our careers came, wives came, our children came but we never forgot those special years. Three of them have passed away and just a handful of us are left.

When I was given permission to invite people to the wedding, they were the only ones who I really wanted to invite. I didn’t know the details of the wedding — when and where it was going to be held. It was only later that I discovered that it was to be at upstate New York which is about 2 hours above New York City. What that meant was that guests had to drive 2 hours from the closest commercial airport. When I knew what my friends signed up for, I gave them permission to back out. But to my surprise they were determined to go. “No one pointed a gun at us when we accepted the invitation” was what one of them said. I was speechless.

During the wedding, I was getting anxious because my daughter and I were to sing a requested song. I never heard it before. I changed the words to make it more personal and I practiced everyday for 2 months. My friends kept on staring at me during dinner. Through their eyes, I knew they were there to support me. Despite all the good intentions, I still managed to mess things up. But the crowd loved it. Here’s a video of my moment with my daughter under the spotlight. Watch the video below.

One of the things I hate most in life is driving … in fact, I am allergic to city traffic. I avoid it like the plague. To be an Uber driver would be my worst nightmare. One of my friends traveled 10 hours from Michigan to Virginia. Then they and their wives carpooled for about 7 hours from Virginia to New York City and then another 2 hours upstate New York. That’s almost 20 hours on the road. Who would do a thing like that? Thinking about it even more, I realized my buddies were not doing it for the bride and the groom but for me. For the wedding couple, every single guest had to travel at least 2 hours to get there. Many of the guests flew in from the West coast. I guess the couple also have amazing friends.

Do you have friends who would walk a mile for you? If not, maybe you should take the first step. I am blessed I have friends who would. You know what makes this doubly hard to swallow? My friends had to travel the same way back. God bless my friends.

TGIF people!

“Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, said ‘I’m here for you’ and proved it.”
— Anonymous

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena, CA for sending this joke.

Video of the Week

SNL: What Was Silly 9 Years Ago
Sent by Tom of Pasadena, CA

WARNING: This video is political in nature. Proceed with caution.

Not really into Saturday Night Live anymore. But this clip reminded me of real life in America 2019. Do you see what I see?

Don’s Puns

From Don’s collection of puns

Heavy Thought of the Week

Sent by Charlie of New Jersey

Parting Shot

Thanks to Charlie of New Jersey who shared this.

The post Office Romance appeared first on Traveling Archive.

I met Lois at an April Fool’s Tea Party fundraising event over a year ago. We hit it off when she said she once was a consulting technical editor for USC. Lois is a senior who wants to do something with her dormant skills. Since that day, I have referred work to her when my clients needed a proof reader. Every once in a while she would contribute jokes for this TGIF email blast. She would share anecdotes, poetry and even songs.

One day, Lois asked if I was interested in illustrating and helping to publish her children’s book. She said when her kids were growing up, she would make up stories to put them to sleep. In fact, they liked her stories better than books she would read. One particular story was about “Tom the Mouse.” She said she thought it up at the spur of the moment. “Tom the Mouse” was by far their favorite bedtime story because it allowed them to participate in making animal sounds. Lois would repeat that story over and over. Lois’ kids have passed on that legacy to their own kids and grandkids.  With a history of 60+  years, there was no doubt that I wanted to do this story. We met once and threshed out the general concepts and I made the illustrations and added a few ideas. We made it an interactive book where kids will learn to read, make sounds, and search for hidden images. At the end of the book, there is a double-page spread full of graffiti names on a wall. We hope parents and kids will enjoy looking for their own names. This project was more difficult than I expected, but it was fun.

Guess what? The book is out!  “Tom the Mouse” has just been made available on Amazon! Just do a search for three words: “Tom Mouse Lois” and you will find it. If you want to do me a huge favor, BUY THE BOOK! It’s a perfect gift to give to parents with young kids. It’s just over ten bucks. If you have Amazon Prime, 2-day shipping is free. Buy two and shipping is free. How’s that for a shameless commercial plug? Oh, and please give us some feedback and please spread the word. Thank you!

When I see Lois all smiles and excited showing off her book, I know I made the right decision. I know I helped make a dream come true. I know I created a legacy for my friend.

CLICK HERE to buy the book!

“A book is a dream you hold in your hands.”

— Neil Gaiman

TGIF people!

Important Question

Shared by Don of Kelowna. B.C.

Best Friends
Sent by Don of Kelowna, B.C.

This is one of the cutest videos ever. More cute than funny. I wish I had a friend like this when I was growing up … these days I have to settle for “The Cat.” (Still resisting her cuteness, though).

WATCH VIDEO

Crazy Success of “Crazy Rich Asians”
Sent by Art of Sierra Madre, CA

That movie is raking it in. This is a good analysis of this unlikely Hollywood success story.

WATCH VIDEO

Don’s Puns

From Don’s collection of puns

Parting Shot

Thanks to Rodney of Manitoba, B.C. who shared this photo

The post Old Friends appeared first on Traveling Archive.

It’s almost eight years since my amazing husband Sig passed away. I will love him for the rest of my life.  He doesn’t even have to be here for me to continue to feel this way.  Thankfully, I am coasting on all our shared memories we made over decades.  He was my best friend, and I am fortunate enough to have had many other friends over my lifetime.  But the saddest thing about the aging process is that slowly, but surely, we begin to lose the people we love and admire.  They move away, change jobs and die.

I still communicate with grammar and high school friends and the many friends I’ve met throughout my life. At 76, I know how to recognize someone that I might like to invite into my life.  I have given teas and lunches for my lady friends for over forty years.  Those teas became the place where I and friends came to re-charge our batteries.  We talked about everything from soup to nuts but never men.  We laughed and cried together and taught each other how to navigate the rough patches.

When we get married, we exchange vows and say, “Till death do us part”.  Of course when this as written, people only lived into what we call middle age.  The longer we are together, the more we understand who we are, who are spouses are and if we’re still on the same page!  After 25 years together, that’s when the love part really has to kick in.  There are no illusions about one another and if you’re lucky you still remember what made you pick your mate.

If you go back five years and remember what seemed important, and go back another five years and so forth, you will  come to understand that the things you felt so strongly about have diminished and no longer are part of your belief system.  It’s really a good thing if you feel good in your own skin, and know how to share your space and have no expectations of the people you love and admire.  I have the right to ask, and you have the right to say no and I take this right for myself.  That’s my personal can’t miss system for the friendships I have.  It took me a while to understand that being able to say no to anyone was a necessity.

The last luncheon I gave was for a dear friend who is moving to Texas.  I used to have 12 to 14 people come for teas.  The last one was attended by four people including me!  So many of my friends have passed away or moved away, and some suffer from Alzheimer’s and conversations just don’t happen.  And, I don’t know which is worse of those three things.

Personally, I’m going for quality of life, not quantity.  I want to be around as long as I can get around and make it to the john!

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