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| Thursday, 27 June 2002 |
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The gift of friendship..! There was not a dry eye that evening, as we bid goodbye to our friend. It was a friendship that had grown over the years and now that a better job awaited him in a far off city, we had all gathered to wish him and his wife goodbye. But as we stood and hugged and cried our farewells, I knew that even though a thousand miles separated us, the miles would not come in the way of the deep bond of friendship that connected all of us to each other, and through my tears I smiled and the others knowing my thoughts and feeling the same smiled along with me. "Once a friend, always a friend," I thought and I remembered the words of Richard Barnfield: Every man will be thy friend While thou hast wherewith to spend, But if store of crowns be scant, No man will supply thy want. He that is friend indeed, He will help thee in thy need; If thou sorrow, he will weep If thou wake, he cannot sleep. Thus of every grief in heart He with thee doth bear a part. These are certain signs to know Faithful friend from flattering foe. A true friend, is one who will recognise me when necessity compels me to wear shabby clothes, who will take my hand when I am sliding downhill, instead of giving me a push to hasten my descent. Who will lend me a dollar when I really need it, without demanding two as security. Who will come to me when I am sick, who will pull off his coat and fight for me even when the odds are two to one against me. Who will talk of me behind my back as he talks to my face..! "Friendship," says Pythagoras, "is one soul in two bodies." Says Thomas Wilson, " Friendship is to be purchased only by friendship. A man may have authority over others but he can never have their heart, but by giving his own." And here's some lovely lines penned by an unknown writer: "Today I have added to my wealth, a priceless treasure. To find it I did not have to dive to the bottom of the sea, nor blast the granite mountain side, nor dig a field, quarry, nor play a sharper's trick. I looked straight into a man's clear eye, spoke a true word, received a signal of understanding, and now for life, I have a friend." I reached my car and looked back. He stood a small figure, but the friendship between stood bigger and stronger than ever before. "Thank God," I thought, "for the gift of friendship..!" |
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