Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days

This past Saturday I got together with two of my oldest and best friends. It was the first time in a long time that Dave, Howard and myself were able to be in the same place at the same time. Howard was in Orlando with his son for school vacation; with both Dave and myself being a short car ride away we jumped at the opportunity.

I was fantastic. It was as if not a single day had passed since we were together last. While there are some friends who I do nothing but rehashing "old times" the three of us still have a strong active friendship and things in our lives while intermingle and keep us together.

First thing we did was recreate a moment from the past. Below are two images 19 years apart. The first was taken at a Halloween Party in 1986. We took the current version on the porch at the Orlando House of Blues. Amazing what the years will do. This photo recreation was my little project. Leave it to me to not be in just the right position. Of course, that gives us the excuse to get together again when Howard returns to Florida!!!




True to our unbelievable luck. The Ryans and I arrived before Howard. He had said he was going to get reservations through Disney. As I watched the line to the door getting longer and longer, I decided to double check. The cute blonde at the door looked through her list saying there was no Cronson, McAuliffe or Farkle. She looked up at me, smiled and said, "Well, when your friend gets her just come up and see me." Sure enough, when Ho arrived we walked up, she recognized me and led us to our table when other were being told of a 45 minute wait.

She wanted me!

Dinner was great. We talked over the old days. Where we are now. Starfleet. Old friends. Family. Kids. Howard got his biggest laugh of the evening as I had to pull out my bifocals to read the menu. "The good old Captain Kirk eyeglass trick, eh?" Funny guy!

Afterwards we walked through Downtown Disney. It was great but way too short. Plans are on the list for getting together with both sets of children at Disney the next time he comes down.

If you've read my blog with any regularity, you know how tight I try to hold on to friends. It's gratifying when I have friends like Dave and Howard I can call at a moment's notice or get together any time or any place and you'd never know a day had passed between us. The hair may be thinner. (Howard's has always been grey, so I won't go there!) The waists bay be wider. But the smiles in both photos are true. You're looking at the faces of loving friendship.