Morning Thoughts: October 30, 2017

Friendships are funny. Some emerge instantaneously. Others become monuments built one brick at a time. Off on a Road Trip with one of those today.

The upcoming trip and a severe case of "baseball fatigue" caused me to miss what purports to be one of the most exciting games in baseball history. Oh well.

Back to the friend. I met him somewhere during the early 1970s. We were in the same profession; urban planning. I remember a twinge of jealousy at first. He had a master's degree at the time and I didn't. Also, his father was one of the most respected men to ever practice urban planning in Arkansas. That gave him a good entree into the planning community.

I always assumed Robert Middleton III, was one of those people who went through life on a charmed and glitch-free path. Fooie on him.

Then I heard from a mutual acquaintance that he had served in Vietnam. "An officer, I'll bet," I remember thinking. "Twelve and a wake-up in a soft admin slot."

Then, our professions brought us in contact and we actually began to talk. No officer. Drafted while in graduate school and recently married, he served with the grunts, earned the coveted Combat Infantry Badge, and came home with a Bronze Star to complete his education.

We talked some more, much more over the years. We both suffered our share of setbacks, betrayals, and bad timing. Both of us ended up among the contented self-employed. We shared questions, suggestions, tips, and warnings. The tower of friendship grew and we're now share a close bond in  our senior years. Oh, and he's becoming a master woodworker and grandfather as well. His only drawback, one he shares with me, is that, as I may have mentioned previously, he over-married slightly.

Another friend of mine once coined the phrase "Trip to California Test." Simply stated, one should ask before making large plans, "Would you want to ride to California from Arkansas with this person?" Ernest Hemingway, in "A Movable Feast" stated it another way, "Never go on long trips with someone you don't love." I expand that to include respect, admire, trust, and enjoy, among other things.

Rob and I plan trips together and look forward to them with great anticipation, so I guess that says it all.