Old Friends

Every once in a while you receive news that company is coming and it makes you happy. Happy because this time it is a visit from a long time friend, like almost all your life. We started school in grade one together and made our journey through to Teachers College and even roomed together in that great year of adventure and discovery. We were small time boys moving away to become teachers and were about as green as they come. We had however an appitite for new things and it seemed that every day opened a new door.

After teachers College I moved far away to the real big city and Donald stayed behind and toiled through thirty some years in the classrooms of Nova Scotia.Our journey was much the same but as we rarely saw each other little was known or shared until we began to have class reunions. These special gatherings brought our class close again and as we grew ,we bonded into a very unique group. We were and are the only group who have had a yearly reunion which included wives and sometimes family.This year it will be our 57 Th and the faithful will converge on

Cape Breton to enjoy a few extra days together before the formal reunion in Truro.

Donald burst on the scene yesterday with his high energy and vast amount of information {gossip}. It was a full hour before we were able to take a breath but we managed to squeeze in some little bits of personal info to add to his wealth of knowledge of the group known as the class of 55.

Several hours went by without a thought of taking a break and the camera was busy documentating the condition of the back yard and the flowers mixed with jokes and laughter. Being comfortable in one's skin is important but being comfortable with friends is even better. Shared history, common values and love of friends will go a long way in making aging seem like a happy journey and that is what our group has achieved.

When we are together it seems like we breath together and our synergy is expressed through our committment to life and the adventure before us. Yes we do look back and recount the happiness we felt but more and more we talk and live in the future. We are all around 75 years old, we teachers that is, our wives are sometimes considerably younger,but we feel and act much younger.

When Donald comes to town he brings all those qualities I have been speaking about with him and he gladly shares them with all who is ready to receive. Thanks for the visit Duck and keep steadfast in your life values.