FRIENDSHIP REKINDLED

I have been so blessed to have so many special people come into my life and I wanted to share the moments that were the beginnings of something extraordinary. Each of these individuals represent a part of me that clearly shows what my best qualities lie in the tight friendships that I have developed over my lifespan. Each of them have changed the course of my history and directed the outcome of my future. Without hesitation, I would lay down my life for each of them and I am forever bound to them through the grace of God, knowing that my heart belongs to them.
JASON CASTEEL
I was playing tag with my friends in elementary school when I noticed a boy sitting quietly underneath a huge oak tree. I was instantly intrigued by him and urged a fellow friend of mine to ask him if he would like to play tag with us. My friend refused and I told him that if he didn’t ask the boy underneath the tree to play tag with us then I would make the boy my new best friend. He of course refused, and Jason became my new best friend. Our friendship has spanned more than twenty years and he is the person that has influenced my life the most. We have gone through everything together and our souls will always be connected, even beyond death. We sometimes under value each other which comes with an aging friendship but our love for each other will always remain because he is my family. I will always support and cherish what we have been through, what we are experiencing, and what the hands of time has in store for us.
SUMMER MARSHALL
I wasn’t sure if I should walk into the meeting or not. College was hard enough and to deal with something like this would make everything so much more stressful. I had to allow myself to be me though and I made the decision that day to walk into the gay and straight alliance meeting. I noticed a girl at the end of the table with long straight hair. She was shy and reminded me a bit of Alanis Morissette. We would both share our first real serious relationship experience together and by a strange turn of events we would eventually become married. Living as a very unconventional husband and wife team for four years. I adore Summer, she’s the core of my ability to pay attention to what is happening to our earth and I admire her ability to strive for her goals. She is constantly making me feel that I should be a better man and she is the one individual that I have seen substantial change and growth in. She is my Mary Magdalene, my rose, and my love of earth.
MARLEO DAVIS
A friend of Summer’s had called the apartment one night and I answered the phone. We started talking, and at some point, Mariah Carey was mentioned. A short time later, Marleo and I had “Mariah Carey Night”! He came over to the apartment and we started to belt out all of Mariah’s songs! He has the talent to carry each of Mariah’s musical notes and I… unfortunately to his ears… DO NOT! He soon moved in with Summer and I and our relationship has become one of the most difficult relationships that I have chosen to be in. We are both alpha males, neither of us can be wrong, we always hate each other’s boyfriends without regard, and we both live very independent lives that sometimes clash. We have secretly loved each other over the years and my best memories include him. He has put me through hell and I have dragged his ass right along with me. Still, we then have these moments where we connect fully and we feel like we are one. It’s these moments that make everything about our relationship worth being together.
NORA KELSO
My life was over! My senior year in a new high school was fucking hell! My fellow students were making fun of my accent, the way I looked and some idiot had just put a wad of their gum into my hair. (Which I had to cut short that very day!) I hated this place and I hated the fact that we had moved here. I walked into Algebra class preparing for another round of onslaught when a girl with the blackest hair turned around in her chair and said hello. She then said we were going to be friends and I silently obeyed her demand. She would be the only source of comfort in this high school hell! Nora is the most kind hearted person I know and she has always thought about others and she has constantly put their needs ahead of her own. I simply love her and it’s a wonderful thing to know that there is someone out there that is filled with humanity. She is a saint in the eyes of many including myself!
MATTHEW HOBROCK
I met Matt the same day, in the same meeting, along with Summer on that cool October day. He is employed by the college that Summer and I attended and he was the club co-advisor. We instantly hit it off and we are always able to joke with each other and just simply let everything around us fade away as we collapse into our own little world. We have gone through a lot of the same stuff at the same time and we have always approached everything with heart and humor. We have constantly been mistaken for each other over the years since apparently he is my identical twin. He is the one person that can make me laugh no matter what.
GENE WOLSKE
I met Gene at a fundraiser for the prevention and education of HIV/AIDS which happened to be on Pearl Harbor Day. It was just a short time later, that we were both volunteering at a local Youth Center and we discovered each other’s loyalty to Alanis Morissette. Through the years we have grown and connected with each other on so many levels. One of the best nights of my life was at an Alanis concert in Chicago where he had surprised me earlier that day with tickets. I am connected to him spiritually, mentally, and my own personal growth as a lot to do with his growth. He constantly embraces me and my flaws and I feel that I can just be me when I’m around him. He is my protector, my rock, and my comfort. He is as I am.
TO ALL OF YOU
It amazes me how much each of you reflect off each other and how I can take qualities from each of you and then realize that through those qualities I can see myself. My heart is full when I’m with you and the tears that I feel on my face at this very moment is simply my heart embracing all of you. You are my heroes in so many ways, each of you have my highest respect and gratitude for a lifetime of happiness and memories. I can’t imagine my existence without God bringing each of you in my life. In a biblical sense, seven is the whole number. It’s God’s number and I know that we all share different faiths and beliefs but I find it extraordinary that together we are the number seven. I know there are times when we just don’t say it to each other but please know that I love each and every one of you so, so much! Thank you for everything that you are and may the grace of love bless our traveled roads