Best Buddies

     Our new neighbors (Michalka's) across the street had a son (Tony), he was a friendly kid and the same age as my son (Patrick).  Tony would come over to our house interested in getting Pat to come out and play, but for some reason Pat was not interested, he actually seemed a little afraid of Tony.  Who would have known that they would become the best of friends standing up as "Best Man" in each other's wedding?


     Tony was a persistent kid coming over frequently, always talking to me as I worked in the yard wanting to know why Pat wouldn't come outside.  The truth is I really didn't know, even kids have issues or fears like adults, maybe it was Tony's jet-black hair that Pat found disturbing.  Tony and I would talk whenever he came over to see Pat and I in turn would tell Pat that Tony was a nice kid asking "Why didn't he go out to play with him".  Pat gave no particular reason for his decision to stay inside.  After a number of weeks with Tony visiting, Pat started talking to Tony through the screen door in the kitchen then finally after he felt comfortable he went outside to play.  It seemed like no time before these two were the best of buddies almost inseparable.  Whatever reason Pat had for not wanting to play with Tony initially is beyond me but it didn't really matter anymore since they were now "buddies".  They have remained best friends since that day despite going to different colleges however the colleges were in the same city (Springfield, Mo).


     I believe it was the same summer that I became friends with John (Tony's Dad), it started in an unusual way.  We had a leak in the water line in the front yard and since it was on our side of the meter we, the homeowners were responsible for the repair, so I decided I would fix it.  Surprisingly, I found the leak fairly quickly after digging a 3 foot deep hole in the front yard.  The water line coming out of the meter to the house was a plastic line and it had a small pin hole in it which I cut out and repaired.  It wasn't but a few weeks after the repair when it started leaking again, so I dug up the yard once more to do a 2nd repair, as I was standing in the hole covered in mud, John came home from work and asked what I was doing.  Sometimes I have a quirky sense of humor and I thought it would be funny (at least in my mind) if I threw some muddy water at him despite not knowing him very well.  I picked up a shovel full of muddy water and hurled it at John, I wasn't trying to hit him but I did want to see him jump.  He quickly jumped out of the way while giving me a WTF look.  I laughed and told him I was fixing a leak in the water line for the 2nd time.  It didn't seem like John too was upset, maybe he also has a quirky sense of humor but later, John told me when he went in his house that day he told Cindy (his wife) that guy across the street was crazy.


     Some weeks later John had bought a mountain bike and was riding it around the court.  A few of us at work had talked about getting a mountain bike so seeing John riding one inspired me to go talk to him about his new purchase.  He was excited about the bike and we had a typical guy talk about mountain biking.  It couldn't have been more than a few weeks later that a few of us from work bought mountain bikes as well.  Pat and Tony had those 20 inch fat tire bikes (mini mountain bikes) single speed bikes so I ask John & Tony if they wanted to go on a trail ride with Pat & I and some guys from work.  This turned into a regular weekly outing and built a friendship that has lasted over 20 years.  We have spent many nights dining out or playing card with John and Cindy plus many fun vacations together.

     So what does it take to have a lasting friendship, well I'm not an expert but I will say persistence (Tony), acceptance (Pat), common interest and humor (quirky or otherwise).  So don't be surprised or angry if your neighbor throws a shovel full of muddy water at you, they could be testing your level of humor.   Who knows 20 years later you could be the best of friends.