J M Wetherington Sr

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anais Nin

On Monday I had the pleasure of spending most of the day at the home of one of my best friends, Kirk. We spent our time together watching a marathon of 7 or 8 episodes of Battlestar Galactica, burning DVD’s from some old VHS tapes, talking computer programs and discussing some philosophical questions about life.

Kirk and I met for the first time almost 17 years ago on the day Cindy and I were married when he and his fiancee Laura, who was already a friend and co-worker of Cindy’s, attended our wedding. About 6 weeks later Cindy and I returned the favor, attending their wedding, and then a couple of months after that we all took a day trip to Tampa to attend a Star Trek convention. We obviously had already discovered that he and I had that interest in common and over the next couple of years we found that we shared a lot of the same interests; science fiction (Star Trek and Star Wars in particular), computers, TV shows, movies, books and philosophies.

Several years ago Kirk arranged an interview for me with one of the major food/entertainment businesses in the world which was headquartered in Orlando. That interview resulted in a job doing something I had been working toward for years and enjoyed with all my heart. If a downsizing due to the economy hadn’t resulted in both of us being let go, we’d probably still be there. Or at least I probably would have because I loved doing that job.

Over the years, no matter how long it might have been since we last saw each other, we could always pick up right where we left off, catch up and keep moving forward. There aren’t many friends you can do that with. I’ve probably had only three such friends in my entire life.

So we had a great time Monday. So much so that we’re going to do it again on Wednesday.

But, here’s the whole point of this post; not to just tell you what a  good friends Kirk and Laura are, but to show you. The first time Cindy and I went to Kirk and Laura’s home for dinner some 16 years ago, after finding out that my favorite comic book hero of all time was Superman, they served my drink in a Superman glass that they had gone out and bought just for me. Every time I have visited their home since, the Superman glass is always there for me and me alone to drink out of. This visit wasn’t any different, though I was still surprised because it has been at least 2 years since I have been able to visit their home and I guess I just always think in the back of my mind that one day it will be forgotten or would have broken or something…but every time it is there and it always causes me to smile and be grateful for such friends.

Drinking water from my Superman glass at Kirk’s on Monday.