|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Ive Gotta Hand It to You
What would I do without my wife? Not much. What would I do without my best friend? Even less. The story begins a long time ago. I kick myself for not remembering the exact day, but it doesn't really matter. It was back when I was about 22 or 23, or so. I started working at this gas station near my home in New Jersey. This happened to be the place where I would meet a few key people that would help to change my life. At the time they didn't have a clue. I was working at the gas station during the day. One job led to another, a young lady by the name of Liz informed me that the auto parts store she worked for was looking for drivers. I went down to apply, and later got the job. Liz and I became friends and chummed around for a while. She was a good friend to talk to, and unfortunately I don't see her much anymore. I was working two jobs then, things were looking up, though I was working like a dog, days at the parts shop and nights at the station. Not to mention building my airbrush and graphic design experience on the side. Keeping busy kept me out of trouble anyway. The other person who helped me along is a fellow named Roger. He worked as a mechanic at the gas station and we got along great. We have many fond memories of the station, some that live on to this day. It was during this time that I tried my first home-brewed beer. Roger has been a blessing in more ways than one. Like Liz, he's easy to talk to, and a good listener. I often wonder how someone could have so much patience for a guy like me, prone to babbling. And not even casual babbling, I'm talking the deep murky stuff! Roger has been through some tough situations in his life and has helped me through my own struggles. We talk about a lot, and every time we get together it's like a mini celebration. Cheers! A celebration of life because here we are, all these years later, still together, still alive, and still learning about and enjoying our world. Roger and I share an avid interest in the neat things the world has to show us, and we like to think, to ponder. Through my website (and that's thanks to Roger too, keep reading) I have the opportunity to share some of those neat things, and thoughts, with you. I'm telling you, back when I was single I was struggling to stay afloat, Lord knows where my money went. What 23 year old male has his priorities in order? Only the ones who have it together, and for some of us it takes longer to gather ourselves. It was tough paying rent, car insurance (which was very expensive for me in my early 20's, you know those "high risk" drivers), a cellular phone bill (because I had to be cool), paying down credit card debt, and putting food in my mouth. I didn't have many pennies left over. I ate a lot of rice and Ramen Noodles in those days. You could get 4 packs of Ramen Noodles for about buck. I was a thrifty shopper, had no choice. So, there I was in my one bedroom apartment, built around the back of a pizza shop and a hair salon, convenient for quick dinner and a hair cut. No girlfriend anymore, I had botched that, and my parents had retired to North Carolina, my sister and brother-in-law followed. I was alone. I had one visitor every weekend though: Roger. He'd stop down and we'd have a few beers, talking about various things. It was nice to have someone to chat with after a week of being alone. Don't get me wrong, I was involved with a musical duo and playing out every so often, but my band mate and I didn't get together much outside of the music. Sometimes, we did, but Roger was around every weekend. We just had more diverse conversation. We could do and talk about anything. Computers, photography, music, including our favorite old bands like Genesis, Yes, and of course Rush. We could talk about books we've read and exchange them. Roger often brought his laptop computer down and we'd network our machines and share files. Just fun geek stuff. In short, since this thing is getting pretty wordy, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should identify, and hold dear, those who influence our lives. Those who help us to change, especially if it's done inadvertently, because they are being a true friend. Without Roger, who helped me purchase my first modem, and introduced me to website design among other things, like home-brewing beer, I wouldn't currently be a professional internet graphic designer, with a great batch of home-brewed beer to enjoy. Without Liz I wouldn't have had enough money to make ends meet. It's because of her that I landed the second job which helped pay the bills Without John, my partner in music, I wouldn't have experienced the fun and fulfillment of writing songs and performing to a live audience. I wouldn't want to keep writing and performing without friends who appreciate and support it. Ultimately without these people I wouldn't have truly understood the meaning of "good friends." I'd still be stuck in my "rut" and not seeing the true possibilities in my life. We need friendships to guide us, to help us grow and learn. And we need to be friends to our friends. There's enough bad stuff in this world, let's not add to it. Let's try to chip away at the rough exterior and smooth things out. One friend at a time. Drew Vics, an artist, writer & musician from New Jersey, writes for http://www.Myeyez.net, and for other websites online.
MORE RESOURCES:
Coffee - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Re-ignite the Fire in Your Relationship! Couples that are together for a while sometimes suffer from passion burn out.Are you a victim of passion burnout?If you no longer have the desire to jump all over your partner whenever they walk through the door, and find more things to complain about than compliment, you may be headed down the path of trouble. Desirous Attachment , the Trap and the Solution I've seen a lot in my life. A lot of people suffering, fearful, temporarily joyous angry, hurt, resentful, longing, hopeful, and ecstatic too. 10 Things Never to Say to A Guy 1. WHEN WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN? You'll see him when you see him. 46 Clues Your Partner is Having an Affair Some of these signs of a cheating spouse are "tongue in cheek" while others are tell tale signs that commonly appear with a cheating husband or cheating wife. There is no copyright. Set Your Relationship Up for Success A quarter of thirtysomething couples are unhappy in their relationships, a new study shows. Just 51% of thirtysomething couples said they were "very happy" in their relationship, with the remainder saying they were "quite happy" but would like to see improvements. When A Relationship Goes Bad What do you do when a long term relationship goes bad? How do you pick up the pieces and get on with your life? It is very simple for someone to tell you that you should just forget about the person you once loved and find someone new.You don't want to stop rehashing in your mind the how and why the relationship went bad. Infidelity: Difference Between a Rage and Revenge Affair The fifth affair I outline in my book, "Break Free From The Affair" is called: "I Want to Get Back at Him/Her." This is the revenge affair. To Apologize or Not to Apologize...That is the Question We don't like to say it and we don't always mean it, but despitethe oft-quoted promise from the movie, love DOES mean sayingyou're sorry. Unfortunately the idea seems to have hung aroundlong since the movie was put back on the shelf. Denial Is Not A River In Egypt Original it ain't, but it still merits repetition: "Denial is not a river in Egypt". What it is, is a highly addictive behaviour. 8 Reasons Why Your Man Isn't More Romantic On Valentine's Day What is supposed to be the most romantic day of the year is too often a source of disappointment and frustration instead of joy for thousands of couples.Valentine's Day usually brings expectations for women who are in a relationship. The Tablet of Venus In the 17th century, divination devices called The Tablets of Fate were sold on the street by fortunetellers. These were square pieces of paper which had sixteen numbers written on them and the idea is that you would go home, close your eyes, spin the paper and point to a spot on the paper to get the answer to your question. Breaking Your Relationship Pattern, Part 4 Finally, after all of the hard work you have done completing your past, here is a way to break your relationship pattern.Relationship choices are often based on patterns created in our childhood. 7 Power Skills that Build Strong Relationships A strong, healthy relationship is one in which the partners show respect and kindness toward each other. The relationship forms a rewarding and enduring bond of trust and support. Ten Tips to Play Together, and Stay Together: Lessons from the Teepee Turn-around There is an old expression, which may sound trite, but I believe it is true, "People that play together, stay together." A couple (by marriage or some other agreement) can increase their chance of remaining a positive statistic, by creating a habit of engaging in fun activities together. Quick Tips for Writing Love Letters * Be in a good mood when writing a love letter. Never try to write a love letter when you're in a bad mood, not only will it be more difficult to write but your bad vibes will make their way into the letter. Like Father Direct Answers - Column for the week of July 5, 2004I was married for 21 years to a man who enjoyed strip clubs, drinking, and his buddies. These things became important to him after we married, and part of his job as an undercover cop. My Broken Heart I guess my soulmate wasn't all he was cracked up to be. You know this has to be the last time I write about him because it is completely driving me crazy dealing with this whole thing. Charisma, Love and Health This is an amazing story. It's about my friend Robert. Building the Bond in Your Relationship A bond (relationship wise) is when two people have a connection. Being attracted to each other and sharing common values and interests brought the two of you together as a couple, but the bond has not been set completely. Great Relationships: 4 More Dumb MIstakes and 4 Smarter Moves to Make 1) Treat the family you have come from as more important than the family you are creating. Put your parents' opinion and happiness above those of your spouse.
|
 |
 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||
| Pendle Writers .com © 2006 | |||||
.jpg)