Old Friends, Bookends.....

Old Friends
Old Friends
Sat on their park bench like bookends
Newspaper blowin' through the grass
Falls on the round toes
Of the high shoes
Of the old friends

Old Friends
Winter companions the old men
Lost in thier overcoats
Waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city sifting through trees
Settle like dust
On the shoulders of the old friends

Can you imagine us years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange to be seventy...

Old Friends
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fear

A time it was
It was a time
A time of innocence
A time of confidences

Long ago it must be
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories
They're all that's left you

I have always loved this song by Simon and Garfunkel....it seemed incredibly appropriate today as some of my dearest friends joined me in saying congratulations to our buddy Jimmy...over 40 years delivering mail, and today is his last day!

Some of my dearest long-time friends are in this photo with me...some of you may recognize outdoorguy behind Jimmy, the man in uniform.

I am standing next to my "sister" Jan...we share a birthday and so much more...and my little "sister" Sue is sitting in front of me...my father figure Carl is standing on my other side...he hasn't changed in the 30 plus years he has been my friend.

And sitting next to Sue is my sweetheart Art, he started working here the same day I did, played Santa for my children every year, organized trips for us that I will never forget and has been a delight in my life since the day we met.

All the people in this photo have played a large part in my life for the past 35 years, and I am grateful to the U.S.P.S. for giving me a wonderful career, a great retirement and the best friends a person could have.