BFF’s.

Unlike what Paris Hilton has tried to accomplish through a reality show, there is a real difference when you have a true “BFF.” For those of you who have absolutely no idea what I am referring to, a “BFF” is “Best Friend Forever.” Although very difficult to find, when you do, it can be for life.

Recently my brother met up with a friend of mine from long ago. We would have to go back to junior high school, but Randy was my best friend. We had similar interests, lived near one another, and hung out during the summers and after school for several years of what I recall. He was a good guy and I am sure he still is. In 9^th grade, we had a falling out. For me it was traumatic, but like everything, you move on and make new friends.

After my brother brought his name up for the second time, I thought, “I’ll look him up on ‘LinkedIn.’” Sure enough, there he was. He had seen a lot of the country having worked in the corporate world, and now has more of a “normal” life not far from where I grew up---at least I assume, as my brother saw him at a local health club.

This past weekend we were trading e-mails; he was at his son’s swim meet and I was shooting pictures at a professional cycling race. After more than 30 years, I learned about his life. Both of his parents are deceased, he has kids---one is a top-tier swimmer---and one, at least of what I could derive, is in Journalism school at the University of Missouri. The same program I was enrolled in a very long time ago. So much time had passed, but it was good to catch up even if it was through e-mails. As you might guess, we didn’t have this form of communication when we were growing up.

Back then we would actually go to the store, ride bikes and talk; Twitter, Facebook texting and other forms of social media were decades away.

Move forward more than 30 years and I look at my kids and their BFF’s. My son still is involved in fantasy football with his friends and comes home every year to pick his players---my daughters all have friends who they have known for a long time. Long depending on how old they are of course. Our youngest, for example, is 5 and 10/12’s (she just thinks she is 5 ½ and has a friend she has known for 4+ years. (That would be comparable to nearly 80% of her life---I can’t claim that I have had a friend for that high of a percentage.)

The photo above is of my youngest daughter and her BFF. Yes they do F-I-G-H-T, but like all friends they will hug and watch out for one another when they play or are with other kids. Will they be friends when they turn 50? Or even 15? Who knows. For them, today is forever and that’s okay by me.

Thanks for stopping by.