I’d shared in Stories yesterday, & now a pic here (last slide➡️) that I got to celebrate my buddy Raph from college’s bat mitzvah of his daughter. Pretty special shot of them doing the daddy/daughter dance.
Raph’s a sports guy thru & thru…even, like me, made it his career. Places like ESPN, The Players’ Tribune, Bleacher Report. But…sports guy doesn’t mean a brazen hooligan void of sensitivity. Quite the opposite. In fact he’s a crier…as was on display as he watched his daughter hit a huge milestone in her life yesterday.
The rabbi commented on it as he shed tears in the temple…he was tearing during this dance…& when the party was over he came up to me & said: w all the ridiculous planning, you picture this moment & think it’s gonna be heaven that the work is over – but it’s the opposite, you’re upset it sped by so fast.
I was at this party w another close friend, Jay – the three of us are glutton for punishment – being 3 huge Jets fans…& we were talking abt how we’ve now known each other longer OUT of college, than the yrs we were alive before & during college itself. That’s insanity. But time does pass that quickly.
We were unlikely friends. Raph & I were in diff frats that didn’t mix much…Jay never pledged. But we all studied abroad & (w/o our choosing) were placed together in a flat in London which solidified our friendship for life. The three of us are VERY different. Both of them have two kids. One lives on LI, one in CT…& I’m the single dummy living in NYC. We spent more time together in college then ALL the yrs since.
The events of the last 3 yrs separated a lot of folks. Couldn’t get together. But abt 2 yrs ago we had a London “reunion” (7 of us) – a simple dinner, where we took EVERYONE’s opinions into consideration – & found a restaurant outside. Political beliefs didn’t matter. We wanted to be together.
These types of relationships are rare…but they’re what make you feel connected. What give you purpose. For a guy like me w/o my own fam yet, make you feel part of a larger fam.
Friends can be the fam we choose. I’m lucky to have guys like this in my life. They’re more valuable than any possession.
