“Some Friends”

You’ve heard the catchy advertisement, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk” on the T.V. before, right? Well, there are actually quite a few things that a true friend wouldn’t let you do, if he/you/I were indeed a true friend. I’ve known many bad marriages that might have been saved by a good friend standing firm amidst the fog of love that so often clouds the minds of two impassioned lovers. Okay, so maybe there are some easier examples to swallow, but I’m sure you get my drift.

One of the things a true friend doesn’t let you do is become engrossed in a good book when you ought to be doing something else… like reading the text books for which you’ve paid so dearly. A true friend would know that, given the choice of dry, humorless school books and sidesplitting humor, the humor book is gonna win out every day (at least up until mid-terms!). A true friend would never risk jeopardizing your education just to make you laugh!

As you can tell, this is a rather personal issue, and not something I grabbed from the local headlines. My friend Victor Robison (formerly retired and now owner of “Victor’s Used Cars” just across the tracks on S. Main St.) brought two books over to my house during the football holiday season (as opposed to the current NCAA basketball holiday season) and suggested I give them some of my attention.

Addendum

I must add here that his brother Ray was also involved in this devious scheme to thwart my education. I must also reluctantly note that he too is a friend, but of an entirely different caliber than Victor. Ray is the kind of friend that finds pleasure in the look of grief that comes upon my face each time we meet. This first began in my office at City Hall, where he would pop his head in my door despite the best defensive efforts of my assistant. Each of these encounters started with a groan and/or grimace on my part, but these never deterred him, and over the course of time we… became… friends…

It still pains me to say it! He’s a friend like that nagging pain in your back that greets you every morning for many years, until a chiropractor realigns you one day, and the next morning you wake without that pain! You’re glad to be without the pain, but for some strange reason miss the routine that went with the torment. You no longer have a nagging motivation to stretch in the morning. Without the pain to grumble about, you find yourself at a loss for a conversation starter:

“Hey Paul, how’s your back doing?”

That may sound strange to some of you, but I know a couple of prayer partners who feel that same way about me! Oh, they act like I’m a complete nuisance (and I probably am) but if I miss a prayer meeting, they’re worried about me.

Long Story Longer…

What I’ve been trying to get around to is sharing with you one of these two books I was duped into reading. I laughed so hard I actually cried several times while reading it, and I just had to share it with you. But now I’m out of room and will have to save it for next week!

Here’s a tease: have you ever read anything funny in Field & Stream?

Next Week: Patrick McManus

Reach Paul and Julie Hill at hillsview@sbcglobal.net or at PO Box 599, Beebe, AR 72012