April 5: Prince, A Real P.O.E.T.S. Day, Pastor Friend

"No idea.  I just want to thank you for being such a goddam prince, that's all," I said.  I said it in this very sincere voice.  "You're aces, Ackley kid," I said.  "You know that?"

I just searched through my copy of The Catcher in the Rye for a passage where Holden is talking to a real friend, not some guy whom he's mocking or secretly hates.  I couldn't find a single person Holden truly likes, aside from his little brother and sister and a few kids he meets in the park.  Other than that, Holden is pretty much on his own for companionship.  He can't even be intimately involved with a prostitute he's hired.  There seems to be some kind of threshold that adults can't cross over with Holden.  So I chose this little piece of dialogue in which Holden is making fun of Ackley, calling him a "goddam prince."

I'm having a real P.O.E.T.S. Day.  I didn't go to work today, and I did most of my house cleaning last night.  That means all I really have to do today is blog and read.  Maybe do some writing.

I met one of my best friends for breakfast this morning.  He's a Methodist pastor, and he works for a church in the Lower Peninsula, just below the Mackinac Bridge.  He brought his sons up for a visit during their school spring break.  Since my pastor friend got transferred to his downstate church, I've only seen him a handful of times.  He saw me through some of the most difficult moments of my life, and I miss his daily presence in my life.  Unlike Ackley, my pastor friend really is a prince.

We were able to visit for a couple of hours this morning at McDonald's.  My daughter was excited to see his sons, as well.  They've known each other since they were very small.  During the time we were together, I really didn't care about what else was going on in my life, what bills I had to pay, what work I had to get done, what I wanted to blog about.  I ate and laughed and enjoyed my friend's presence.

Very few times in a person's life do you meet someone who's a true friend.  One who listens to your problems without trying to solve them.  One who reads the same books, goes to the same movies, and likes to the same music as you.  One who travels four hours on snowy roads through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to see you.

Saint Marty had breakfast with his true friend this P.O.E.T.S. Day.

Thank God for true friends