"A friend should bear his friend's infirmities..." (Julius Caesar)

.....I received an e-mail from son, JR, containing the following message from a former student, Magda Machado (now Garsol) at present living in Hong Kong. She was an exchange student from Brazil and when she had problems living with another family, we took her in. This message posted on Facebook was probably in response to a question asked about me from a friend.

The following message about you was posted by Magda on her Facebook page:

"...Yes, he has been a great father to his children. To me, he's been a wonderful friend, one who invited me into his home when my own father  and brother were sitting in a Brazilian military jail. He and Thelma allowed me to be a young person again. I lived in their home for two years (a little less),  and without him I would not have gotten the full scholarship from Post College. Then, through the years, our friendship grew, matured, aged as good wine,  and it is one of the most beautiful relationships that I have experienced in my life. I am delighted, proud and grateful that I know him."

In previous blogs I pondered about whatever accomplishments and failures I have had in my life...and gratefully, it has been a long life.  I suppose my career as a teacher must be considered an important accomplishment evidenced by the fact that I have had an influence on so many students.  It is very satisfying to still hear from many, many of them through the wonderful device of e-mail, and to learn from them how I touched their lives.  Now, if I've had this kind of effect on young people, have I had some of the same effect on people and friends that I have met in my life?  Well, perhaps not the same kind of effect, but what other kind?  I'm not the most sociable person on the planet. What I do know is that I have had many good friends.

....Last night we had an event down at the swimming pool and little clubhouse called, "Dancing under the Stars" except that it was chilly and not a very good night for dancing.  I couldn't and wouldn't dance anyway.  The last time I tried, I broke my hip and am still suffering from that mistake.  The "dance" was held at 6p.m. and sandwiches, cold slaw and potato salad were served along with cold beverages like wine and soda to wash it down.  There were in attendance about 100 people and a DJ at the pool.  The good souls who ran this event were mostly friends and neighbors from my building.  I did not see too many people that I knew from the nine buildings in our section except for friends and fellow thespians from the times that I appeared and performed in shows.  Those days are now gone, and whatever happened to that old gang of mine?