Goodbye Old Friend

Today I said goodbye to an old friend; a faithful companion. We had one last full day together, but then it was time for us to part ways. Life will go on, but my friend will not soon be forgotten. I'll remember the many experiences that my friend was there to share with me. I'll recall the times that my friend was my only outlet, the only one that would take all that I dished out, and help me to make some sense of it. My friend neither judged nor condemned. Never once was I received with anything but fairness and neutrality. I was permitted to postulate, to perplex, or even pontificate. I could criticize, I could call to arms, I could confide if need be. Sometimes, If I felt like it, I could just chatter. I was allowed to emote. I was allowed to express myself.

But that's just the way friends are, right? Good friends just have a way about them. They are there when you have something to say, and there when you have nothing to say. They go in the trenches with you and stay the course until the two of you emerge victorious.

Although this friend was at my side only a short time, I feel blessed just the same. I have other friends, and will surely meet new friends but each will have their special place in my mind, as I think about trials and triumphs shared with each. This one had so many special qualities. This friend encouraged and even facilitated communication with other friends and colleageus. This trusty companion brought me good news, and kept me in touch with things. I could seek advice, I could attempt to be clever, I could be myself with this friend. I could get off on tangents or launch into tirades, and even run on ranting with the intensity of a tel-evangelist. My friend would always allow me to finish, sometimes counseling or offering a necessary admonition lest I be too narrowminded in my assertions, or break rules, all the while maintaining the perspicacity of a supreme court justice.

But press on, I must. I won't continue this lament any longer because my laptop would not wish for me to do so. My entries will be entered on another keyboard after today. I will instant message from a new monitor. As I stand here on this precipice, my words and thoughts having come through the Gateway, I pray that greener pastures lie ahead and that the Dell will allow me to see the forest for the trees.

And if you inherited all the corn in Nebraska, you'd have nothing on me...