A Very Rich Man

(Augusta, GA) I was in Cartersville GA yesterday and remembered a couple who I thought lived there who I have not seen in at least a dozen years. I looked their number up and left a message on a voicemail. Although I was not sure I had the right number, Jon and Kay called me last night.

And we picked up right where we left off 12 years ago. We must have talked 30 minutes and got caught up on kids and life. Since Jon was going to be out of town today I met Kay for lunch when I came back through town.

Jon hit a grand slam home run when he married this gal some 27 years ago. Kay is the sweetest of the sweet. And she gets more gorgeous as the years go by.

We met Jon and Kay about 25 years ago at Benevolence Baptist Church. The Benevolence family was a very close knit group. We all went to church together but we also visited in each other’s homes on a regular basis and spent a ton of time together. We knew everything about each other and we accepted each other as we were – with all our warts and imperfections. It was fellowship at its best and we all got very close to each other in the process. And we had a blast at the same time. Truthfully I have never experienced anything like that since.

I can tell you Kay and I had no trouble coming up with conversation today during the hour we spent at Applebee’s. We laughed a lot and shared pictures and stories about our families. And it was just about as good as it gets.

I called my wife tonight and told her I would give her three chances to guess who I had lunch with today. Although she was very excited when I told her I had lunch with Kay, she didn’t guess right.

But what was right was the fact that I made a phone call yesterday and hooked up with some very special folks from our past.

I was reminded today that true friendships are worth far more than money.

My time with Kay also reminded me that I am one very rich man.