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On My Duff

Friend; one who is personally well known by oneself and for whom one has warm regard or affection; intimate.

"Friend; a person who knows everything about you and still likes you."

-- Dr. Charles O. Young.

I can’t remember the first time I saw him, but I do remember the first time I was aware of his presence in my life. I was sitting in class and in strolled this kid who quietly took a desk in the back of the room. He apologized for being late for class and informed the teacher that his alarm had failed to go off. This occurred three days in a row and on the third day I made it a point to get aquatinted with this new kid. I found that he lived on my way home from school. I also learned that his mother had taken a position at the federal women’s prison and her shift did not end until after our morning classes started at school. I then decided to take it upon myself to go by and awaken the new kid and make sure he was not late for school. It turned out as I stopped by one morning that my new friend asked me to make him something to eat. I had never thought of that before. I had always awakened to having my breakfast awaiting me and then felt very guilty that I had been dragging this new found friend off to school hungry every day. So I would leave the house a little early, go to my friends, put "Under the Double Eagle" on the record player and cook him eggs and toast. He never said so, but I’ll bet there were mornings when he would have loved to throw me, record player and the eggs out the window.

My friend was a little bigger than most of the kids our age and for some, including me, he was a lot bigger. It was soon established that he was the bully of the school. Now before you get your knickers in a wad let me explain. As long as my friend went to our school there was never a bully there. Every once in a while some new kid or some braggart would try to assume that position, but if they did they would get a visit from my friend and would be asked to go a round or two of back alley fist-o-cuffs. I cannot ever remember one ever taking the position, so I guess my friend did his job well.

He was a good athlete and had one of the most promising careers of any kid around those parts, but fate intervened and when fate was done the career was over even before it had a chance to grow. From then on it was just trying to raise a family and make a living like so many of us had to do.

His reputation as a fighter was well know around the county where we grew up. It started after a basketball game with a neighboring high school. One of the players from the visiting team had called my friend a son of a stray female dog during the game. The player must have had a small reputation of his own because after the game my friend looked him up and told him in no uncertain terms that in no way would he have his mother spoken of in those terms. When the smoke cleared the visiting player had to make a dental appointment and my friend spent a few years trying to live down the incident only to be called out from time to time to prove to some guy who needed, as some in the old west would do when they heard of a fast gun, to see if my friend was as good as the stories that were going around. Lucky for my friend he was whisked off to college before there was serious trouble and between his new wife and trying to learn something he grew into a good man.

We went our own way after high school and from time to time we would hook up. It always seemed like we just talked yesterday. But time got away from us both and we became parents and grand parents. Life hit us from every direction and somehow we survived this long.

His doctors say they have found a bad thing inside of him. I am sure that he will take on this opponent just like he has in the past and will fight with all his might and with whatever is necessary to ward off this thing that has invaded him. I find myself standing on the sidelines as I did so many years ago and watching, knowing there is nothing I can do. I cannot fight with him or for him. I pray that he wins this time too. I pray that he beats this terrible thing down until it cannot get up again.

If a man has one person whom he can call a friend he can consider himself rich. I can say without reservation that David B. Shields is my friend and for that I consider myself wealthy.

[Duffy, I appreciate the nice words. I wish I could be remembered for somethng other than being a ruffian and a hooligan, but it is what it is. You're a good friend, man, and I've always cherished that. I look forward to seeing you and Buckshot. --David]

Matt and Josh and the Journey to the Stone

“Matt, Matt,” screamed Josh as he ran down the sidewalk.

“What now Josh?” asked Matt.

“I lost the stone”.

“How could you lose the stone? Wait, what stone?”

“No!”

Almost instantaneously the floor turned to air, and they fell.
When they stopped falling, they saw the stone about a mile away. Once they were just a few steps away, a giant bull was running towards them.

“Umm, I think we should run now Josh” said Matt.

Matt found a bat on the ground and told Josh to trip the bull. Surprisingly, Josh tripped the bull and once near enough Matt hit it out of sight.

While getting closer to the stone, a person popped out of the ground and said “What is ...”

“Blue” said Josh.

Then the guy disappeared.

“How can you be so dumb and then get a question right out of the blue?” asked Matt.

“I don’t question it. I think it’s a gift”. Matt runs with Josh behind him.

Finally there, they touched the stone and then they appeared back on the sidewalk.

“Next time don’t lose the stone” said Matt.

That night when Josh looked at his dresser, the stone was gone. “Matt is not going to like this,” said Josh.

Immediately they were back in the same place as before. “I knew this would happen. Let’s just get it over with, and go,” said Matt.

They charged out into whatever laid ahead of them this time.

(PART 2)
“Well, what do you think will happen this time?” asked Matt. “Not sure”. “Wait, what is that”.
“Come on Josh; it is just your average ten ton nerf gun shooting darts at us,” said Matt. They started running around trying to avoid the darts. Josh pulled a mirror out of his pocket. It shot at the mirror but ricocheted and shot the nerf gun.
All of a sudden a pitching machine started shooting baseballs at them. They just kept dodging them. If you do not know, Matt is an all star pitcher. He threw the ball and crushed the machine.
They got the stone but this time Matt took it. When he got home, he hit the stone with the hammer. They won’t have to worry about that stone anymore.

(To be continued)