JUST BECAUSE we want to maintain contact and some interaction with each other, we meet each Wednesday afternoon at the home of our friend who is house bound as he continues to deal with medical issues which limit his mobility. There are four of us who try to keep open the “sacred” Wednesday gathering. Each of us have various medical issues whether it is cancer, kidney and diabetic issues or complications following eye surgery—the list never seems to end. Invariably, each of us give a “weekly” medical report, focusing on our respective maladies. Our fifth “compadre” has been closely confined to home although we do try to keep in touch by email and phone. Additionally, during these “gatherings” we are bound to rehash the latest adventure of the Alabama football team, making claims of superior knowledge of what should have been done that was not evident during the game. Basketball is now beginning to creep into the conversation as the season looms closer. Critiquing the athletic exploits of Alabama does consume a measure of our time together. We tend to meet for about an hour or until our “host” informs us that it is time for him to get down to the business of eating his dinner. Off we go until the next Wednesday rolls around!
Prior to the ravishes of COVID, there were five of us that met daily at a local pub for drinks as we brought another day closer to closure. It was and has been JUST BECAUSE we had a mutual respect and interest in one another that kept our time together habitual. Each of us come from quite diverse backgrounds and life experiences. Four of us are retired Professors at The University of Alabama and one is a retired Director of a county department of Human Resources. Among the four of us who left the university, one was from English, another from Mechanical Engineering, another from Geography and I had been on the faculty of the School of Social Work. While we have varied political orientations, the one coalescing factor was a mutual disdain for the previous president and his bombastic behaviors. I know there was a time when my wife was asked about our “little tradition” and she supported it as something that allowed me to have some time with friends and to an extent, like-minded individuals. Friendship is ever so important as we travel through the journey of life. In most cases, family will always be there to support, cajole, and prod us to do what we should and need to be doing. Friends, on the other hand, may come and go, but those that remain are critically important as the waning years continue to build up. Of the original group of five, two of us are in our early 80’s and the others are in there mid to late 70’s. At some point in the not-too- distant future, the bell of lifer is going to ring; therefore, clinging to the friendships that we currently enjoy allows us to have some measure of stability and saneness. JUST BECAUSE that is what friends are for and what friends provide without any imposition of conditions.
As we get older, I believe, it allows us to spend some time reflecting on where we have been and what we have accomplished. Further, it allows us to reflect on those relationships that have been important throughout life’s challenging times as well as the good times. It has been some of those relationships that have been there to sustain us and keep us moving forward. As the years move one, we find ourselves holding on to those relationships that are still available. How many of past relationships are no longer possible because the other person is no longer with us. Keep your friends and, yes, your family, close and let others know how important they are to and for you. JUST BECAUSE!