Precious old friends are good for the soul

This past weekend my wife and I had the distinct privilege of spending some relaxing time in one of those typical central Florida RV parks that is home to the thousands of snowbirds who choose to winter in FL. 

But this wasn’t any old RV park. It was one that catered to Canadians. In fact, all the streets in the park were named after NFL Hockey teams: Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Islanders…..etc. And as we strolled around the park for our leisurely walks, I’d say by the license plates that the park was about 80% full of Canadians.

I’d venture to say that most middle Georgians aren’t that familiar with Canadians; certainly we weren’t until Blue Bird asked us to go up to Ontario in 1989 to oversee the operations at Canadian Blue Bird. At the time we weren’t that excited to go. After all, we had just built a new home about a year earlier and we hated to leave it as well as our middle Georgia friends. But God knew best; the nine years we spent in Canada were the best of my career and the best for our family. In fact, my daughter and one of my sons married Canadians.

But these weren’t just any old Canadians we met there; they were our old motorcycle buddies. Now be careful as you read this not to put on us your motorcycle stereotype images; we’re not your typical bikers prowling the streets looking for trouble. No, in fact when we would ride together we’d always start our day’s ride in a circle with arms locked together in a short prayer meeting thanking the Lord for the privilege of riding through His creation and asking for safety. And talking about riding through His creation, over a period of nine years, we had three of the most wonderful week’s-long rides together you can imagine:

•Through the Canadian Rockies

•The Desert Southwest, and

•The Smokies

The last of these rides was ten years ago in The Smokies as they came several thousand miles to meet us there and help us celebrate our 40th anniversary.

Invariably, as we get together, we rehash the stories of previous rides and the stories always seem to get bigger and funnier. In fact, this year we met in a Cracker Barrel restaurant at the big round table for eight just behind the receptionist and the stories and laughter got so loud that the whole crowd gave a collective sigh when we got up to leave; the place suddenly went silent and some asked us not to leave; they were vicariously enjoying the ride with us!

I believe it was during that dinner that Ray Glenn, from Toronto, said these words that I chose for today’s title: “The older I get, the more precious my friends become”! Those words have been ringing in my ears ever since. There is nothing more precious in this life than friends you can laugh with, cry with and trust. Maybe, just maybe, that trust comes from the fact that we all share a common faith in our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I think so.

Well, all of these friends are in their 70’s now and some closer to 80. Is there still another ride in the future or has that chapter passed? That’s a question I posed to my wife over breakfast. I don’t know. But I do know this: Those are my “Precious Old Friends” and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world!

I hope you have some precious old friends too. If so, reach out to them, even if it’s been ten years since you’ve seen them as it was with us. I bet you and they will be glad you did!

Thanks for reading All About Seniors…..see you next week!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA/