Each to each a friend, or soon to be. All seven, born in 1948, became neighbors in a small village, a suburb of a sleepy Midwestern town. All were younger brothers. Their parents and grandparents were friends and, in some cases, relatives. They started life on a common footing as classmates and competitors.
Their start was not of any particular distinction, but as they all grew the threads of friendship never severed. It may have been one or two of them that kept all “in the loop”, but it was the common start to life that linked them in a bond or web of friendship. As they scattered to California, Oregon, Idaho, South Carolina, Connecticut, Maine and Ohio, they were always “in touch” indirectly. Thus it was not unexpected that they all came together in the Berkshire Mountains for a reunion after more than 65 years of distant friendship.
Six plus one, seven in all – None of them five feet tall
But through that year they all grew as four year-olds will do
Sent each day to the Armstrong School …where they were taught the golden rule
Home and school was all they knew in 1952
Little boys in a post war world … pledging allegiance as the flag unfurled
In that class seeds were sown one to one each to be known
As A Friend
One to one another as a friend
Bound together by their start a web of which all were a part
Each to each A Friend
A friend is someone you’re always glad to see
To whom you owe a loyalty
Respecting whomever she or he might wish to be
Even though they hold beliefs with which you disagree
Six plus one seven in all came together in their early fall
Still in shape no worse for wear
Some signs of aging here and there
They laughed a lot and talked the rest ‘bout the things in life they loved the best
Kids … home or what they’d seen then now and in between
Some of them had stayed in touch others well not so much
But there they were together again
Each to each glad to remain
As a friend
One to one another as a friend
Bound together from the start a web of which all were a part
Each to each A Friend
“Reunion” By Ledyard Campbell
Looking back from the age of 70 to our teens or forward from our teens to our 70th, honesty would compel disbelief. Were we, in the then and the future when, in any way related. Had we any reason, then, to realize who we would become as “old” men, could we have accepted even a few of the changes that would come about in ourselves, brought on by the changing times? Can we look back to the children, youths and young men we were in the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s and do anything but laugh? Well. Perhaps there has been a constant.
So many things have happened in the years we’ve been a friend
That it’s hard to put just three or four to pen
“One giant leap for mankind” and the USSR’s end
The internet the smart phone …for are few… ah but then
The universal constant …the bar that wouldn’t bend
The theme which echoed time and time again
The nub of every phone call … every missives that you’d send
Was,
“Tell me, how you’re doing?” … “You OK? …”How have you been?”
So Many Things have happened in the years we’ve been a friend
”JHS” by Ledyard Campbell
Perhaps, rather than looking back from the recent past to the distant long ago, or looking from the when of the 50’s to the then of 2018, we should just come forward to the “Now”, sitting together on a rainy afternoon.
The Rain here together in the rain
Tapping on the
window like a
whisper in our ear
then banging on the rooftop Making sure we know it’s here
The rain here together in the rain
SO
Throw another log on the fire
Come sit beside me
Tell me what you’ve been doing
Make yourself cozy
Let the fire grow higher
I’d like to know what you’ve been brewing
It’s been a long time since we’ve talked like this
We should never have let our friendship go amiss
And I’d like to know what you’ve been thinking
Where you’ve been going, and furthermore
It’s a cold and a rainy day
Not much here to do anyway so
Throw another log on the fire
“Throw Another Log On The Fire” by Ledyard Campbell
Here we are, as we have been “70 years a friend.”
@Ledyard Campbell LLC. 2020. All Rights Reserved