One of Those People

My neighbor across the street died last August. I didn't know him well. I had been inside his house maybe once or twice. Nearly every conversation we ever had took place on his driveway while he was either working on, cleaning or preparing to ride one of his Harley Davidson motorcycles. He let me borrow or tool or two every now and then and he made the grand gesture of letting me borrow his snowblower seven or so years ago when I first moved to our suburban neighborhood. We were fresh from the City and our lone shovel was no match for a blizzard that hit shortly after we moved in. He was someone you had to talk to to know who he was. He rode the bikes, had a some scruffy facial hair and was a Viet Nam vetern. I remember my surprise when I spotted a GOP elephant on his Harley hat once. I asked what that was all about and he told me that it was the only way. He said the Democrats had abandoned him years ago. His politics were always fun to hear, because he really felt them. As I said, I didn't know him well. Our conversations weren't frequent and rarely exceeded five minutes in length. But, when he died, I offered my sympathies, heartfelt, to his son, on the same driveway and said to him that his father was one of those people you were glad you knew. And you were. He was just one of those people.

So that's the background and the rest of this isn't about my late neighbor. It's about those people, people who, you are better for knowing. Maybe they cast a light so bright that you warm in its glow. Perhaps, they set such a strong example that you find yourself wanting to be like them, not entirely, but in some way that makes you a better person.

When I first thought about this, and, frankly, memories of my father make me think about all sorts of things like this, I thought this was about friends, or relatives who I hold dear, but really it isn't. Surely, I have friends upon whom I rely, everyone does, and friends who I feel damn lucky to know, but that isn't the point I want to make. These are people who you think about and just know they are good, or strong, or smart, or cool, or attractive, or athletic. Maybe.

But, and here's the tricky and lucky part -- I have a number of friends who are those very people. I know them, I sit and talk to them or we email or we sit and don't say a word and their presence illuminates my life. I need to offer examples, I feel.

And I will, in Part 2.