It has been said that the only way to have friends is to be a friend. Over the years I have found this to be so true, and I have been blessed to have some really good friends.
When I thought about this, the one who came to mind first is a man by the name of Mickey Cox. Mickey retired after many years in top management with the Entergy Corporation, and I have known him now for almost 30 years. Several years ago, after we first met, he became my fishing buddy. How I miss those days. When we went fishing we would go in his boat, in his truck, and using his tackle. I did buy the bait.
Mickey is one of those people who enjoys fishing on a regular basis, but I just go when I am invited and when I can get away for a day or so. I have always enjoyed my fishing trips with him because he is a fine Christian man and we have wonderful fellowship. He always catches fish on a regular basis, and he is kind enough to let me catch one or two. One thing I learned a long time ago is to never catch more fish than the fellow who invited you.
Sometime back he sent me an article by an unknown author that he had gotten somewhere titled, “KEEPERS,” and at first I thought it was a fishing story because that’s the term we use when we are deciding if we are going to keep a fish or throw it back. I might add that Mickey keeps them much smaller than I do. My motivation is determined by the thought of having to clean them when we quit fishing.
However, this was not the case in regard to the article, and if you have been around for a good number of years I believe you will really appreciate the values contained in this article.
It begins: “I grew up in the fifties with practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it. A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, T-shirt and a hat, and mom in a housedress, lawn mower in one hand, and dishtowel in the other.
“It was a time for fixing things — a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, reheating, renewing. I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste means affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there would always be more. But then my Mother died, and on that clear summer’s night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn’t any ‘more.’ Sometimes what we care about most gets all used up and goes away — never to return.
“So … while we have it … it’s best to love it … and to care for it … and fix it when it’s broken … and heal it when it’s sick. This is true for marriage … and old cars … and children with bad report cards … and dogs with bad hips … and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know are special.”
Like my friend Mickey Cox, who, along with a crew of men from his church, built our bookcases for the first 11 years? I will always be grateful to him and his crew for that.
—(Editor’s Note: For a personally signed copy of my new book ‘Your Future Begins Today’ send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)