From The Storyteller
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Hello All: This week's story is about life's storms and the people who help us get through them. Enjoy, Doug
Nail File “A good friend shelters you from the storm” is an old Chinese proverb that points our attention to what friends, storms, and shelters are. This of course causes me to think about Ken, my running buddy through high school. We did everything together, and, as life would have it, he joined the Navy and ended up in San Diego, while I joined the Air Force and ended up in Topeka, Kansas. During our years together I trusted him to watch my back, and I did what I could to cover him. While it's been years since we last talked, I still value the relationship we had, because as a kid growing up, it felt good knowing I could count on my friend if things got stormy. This memory naturally caused me to think about Elaine, who has been my running buddy for roughly 40 years. While most folks tend to think of life’s storms as big events like heart attacks and major surgeries, the storms that I’m thinking about are the ones that happen every day. Which of course brings me to my hangnail the other day. It was a small thing, but it really irritated me. It seemed to catch on everything and always at the wrong time. I’m sure you can guess who produced the nail file that solved my problem, without me even needing to ask. I simply mentioned the problem, and it was solved. This brought me to focus on action taken by our “good friends” when the small storms of life take place. These “shelters” could be anything from a broken shoelace rescue to a quiet mention that “your zipper is down”. Be thankful for them, because when they happen it really feels good. Moral: Be a “good friend”; it will make life better for the person you care about. |