In many previous blog posts, Jane has touted the value of friendship. Women are tried and true friends, often for life. Don't be taken in by soap operas or reality shows that depict constant back-stabbing and treachery. Those shows are put together by modern day writers attempting to compete with Shakespeare. As if!
Last night Jane watched "A Painted House," a Hallmark movie on one of the local channels and was as impressed by the warmth of the commercials as she was by the poignancy and emotional impact of the movie. One commercial especially caught Jane's eye, and tugged at her heart. Several people, caught in an elevator, became friends, all because one woman had a Hallmark birthday card she was reluctant to open. The card was from an old gir friend, someone this woman had 'lost touch' with, which she clearly regretted. By the end of the commercial, all the folks in the broken elevator were sitting cross-legged on the elevator floor, munching on goodies one woman had in her grocery bag (She was returning home from shopping...offline! It happens, Jane acknowledges that.), reminiscing on their old times, on the friends they'd left behind.
One and all, they began to understand that friendship is not something to be taken for granted. There were four women in the elevator, one man, and a child, a little girl. The little girl came with the woman who was so reluctant to open that birthday card. Her guilt, remorse, and sadness over the time lost, was apparent in her face and her voice when she told the others who the card was from. Just before being rescued, the others urged her to open the card and read it outloud. She did. A moment's pause gave the television viewer time to embrace the power of the words in the card, that the woman writing it was just as sorry for the long separation as the woman holding the card. As rescuers opened the elevator doors, the man waved them away, saying, "Give us a minute." Then he turned to the woman and said, "Read it again."
Women do not take friendship lightly. We may, sometimes, lose touch with our friends, move away, get too caught up in the day-to-day routine to call or write, but in a special, warm corner of our brain, we have all good intentions of rekindling that special friendship...someday. Men are not as likely to feel this way. It's not that they don't form friendships, oh they do! But, men are still caught up in the competition of life -- am I better than the next guy; is my car faster; is my girl friend prettier or smarter or richer; and, more and more often, am I providing as well as I truly can for my family? In their complicated world, friendships often come and go with their jobs, or with the particular wife they have.
Jane would like everyone -- male and female alike -- to pause today and remember old friends. Contemplate this poem, author unknown, and take action:
Around the corner, I have a friend
In this great city that has no end.
Yet, the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
***
I never see my old friend's face,
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
***
But we were younger then,
And, now, we're busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
***
"Tomorrow," I say, "I'll call on Jim,
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But, tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
***
Around the corner yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram, sir" ... Jim died today.
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
***
Pick up the phone. Reconnect with clients you haven't heard from in awhile. Ask how their life is going. Don't try to sell them anything. Just connect. Amazing things will happen.
What's not to like about that?
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