Friendship is a gift from God. But what makes the best kind of friend? One that will get the dried lipstick off your teeth! Another characteristic is that a great friend is fun. Karla and I have had enough fun to last a lifetime! We can have fun anywhere and anytime. Standing in line at a deli one day we were trying to decide what we could eat. We told the young man behind us to go around us. His reply, “Oh no, I am enjoying the show!”
A friend should be loyal, caring, and honest. More importantly friendship is the opportunity to love and serve others rather than having others love and serve you. To have good friends, you must be a good friend.
Above the Call of Duty
Karla and I are often doing for one another. We don’t keep tabs, or pay each other back, because “it all comes out in the wash” as our mothers would say. Recently, Karla went above and beyond the call of duty for me. I needed Travis, my oldest son, who is away at college, to make an important phone call, but he was in class. I was going to call and see if they would take the information from me, but I was sure they wouldn’t since he is over 18. So, Karla volunteered.
Impersonating
The plan was for me to call, and if they asked to speak to Travis, she was going to impersonate him. I told her to talk like a young guy, not real formal. I wrote all the needed information on a paper for her to have handy. We sat in the quiet car, and I dialed the number. As I suspected, when I told her his birth date, she asked to speak to him. I handed it to Karla, and put it on speaker phone. She changed to her most manly voice, and the conversation went something like this:
Karla: “Yea.”
Lady: “Yea! What are you saying yea for, I haven’t even asked you a question yet.”
Karla: “Sorry.”
Lady: “What is your name?”
Karla: “Travis Tumlin”
Lady: “Spell that.”
Karla: “Tumin.” (I whispered to Karla, “you spelled it wrong! It’s T-u-m-l-i-n)
Lady: “Ma’am! Are you spelling your son’s name for him? Is your mom spelling your name for you?”
Karla: “Sorry Ma’am, I got a little confused. I haven’t been feeling so good lately.”
The conversation went on and the lady who seemed very upset with Travis to begin with became sympathetic. (I think she thought he was not the brightest crayon in the box!) One of the last things she said to him was an email address and she added, “It’s www., now honey that’s three w’s in a row. And good luck now.”
That was one of the funniest moments we have ever had. Friendship often goes to great lengths.
Being a good friend is just as important as having a good friend. Make a choice to be a good friend to someone today.
