It was 50 years ago that I had my biggest — and last — real acting job.
I had the lead in a theatrical production at Northern Virginia Community College. I was the only character on stage for every minute of the play from first to last. I had been in a better play the year before, playing the gentleman caller in a community theatre production of “The Glass Menagerie,” but this last play was special for another, far more important reason.
It was the beginning of one of the two most important friendships in my life, one that began in 1973 and has lasted to this day.
I have been amazingly fortunate in one respect. Young people these days have the expression “BFF,” which stands for Best Friend Forever. I have been blessed to have two BFFs, one since 1965 and the other since 1973. Both are wonderful men and both have had major health problems in recent years,
Both of my friends are talented writers, each in ways that I find myself wishing I had their gifts. My older friend Mickey is gifted at plotting out stories, while my friend Bill has perhaps the best sense of humor of anyone I’ve ever known. That’s why “The System,” the football novel he and I published in 2021, is a funny story that might not be Dan Jenkins but is still very entertaining.
His life has been a lot like mine in one respect. While my career in newspapers has taken me to seven different states, his life in radio has taken him to Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Pennsylvania.
Six years ago, he had to undergo treatment for a throat cancer. He made it through and was cancer-free for several years. Now he apparently has a cancerous growth on the outside of his throat. He’ll undergo surgery to have it removed tomorrow and there is every reason for optimism.
It’s strange. I haven’t actually seen him in person in six years, and the last real conversation we had was about a year ago.
But other than my wife and children, no one occupies a place deeper in my heart that my two dear friends. That will be true for as long as I live.
Nothing in the world matters more than our personal relationships — family and friends.
That’s why I have been praying most of the weekend and will continue.
Dear God, please show some love for Bill.
And nothing hurts us more than the ones that don’t last.