At various points in my life, I have been blessed with the friendship of some truly wonderful people. With these people, I was able to share the deepest parts of my soul - the frustrations, the fears, the lonliness, the anxiety, the anguish, the joys, the euphoria - and they shared the same with me. They helped me to see that these things that I experience aren't so bad, that they are part of this beautiful thing that is the human experience. I place great value in these friendships. I sometimes think about these dear friends, those with whom I have parted ways. I wonder where they are, how they've been doing. I pray for them, for their health and their happiness. Some of these faces I have not seen in many a year - I had to think hard in order to place a name or two in at least one instance. But they all have touched my heart in ways that are indellible. Without them, I would not be who I am today. And, in my heart, I will love each as if it had been yesterday.

Melanie here was my best friend for several years, starting when we had biology together in 1984/95. We went to my senior prom together, and shortly afterwards we "adopted" each other as brother and sister. I saw her through two marriages and two divorces (to the same guy), and was "uncle" to her two beautiful kids, Josh and Ashley. She moved to South Carolina a few years ago, and last I heard she was engaged to a used car salesman. I could always count on her to tell me when I was acting like a geek, and she gave me tons of moral support when I needed it the most.

Joetta Oliver is a preacher's daughter (her dad, the Rev. S.W. Oliver, is a very cool cat), and has 12 brothers and sisters, and loads of cousins, inlaws, neices and nephews. She had a beautiful family, and you could tell from her personality that there was an abundance of love in that family. I spent a lot of time at their house and church. I saw her a few years ago when I attended her mom's funeral - she married a really nice guy and is living in Biloxi, Mississippi, where she was working as a professional (engineer, programmer or something). She looked really great - it was nice to see her doing so well.

I think I first met Erica back in St. Josephs grade school, when I was in 6th grade, and she was in 3rd. Later, when I started high school, she lived next door to the school, and as an underclassman I used to see her as I walked by her house on the way home from school almost every day. She was a freshman during my senior year, and I would hang out with her, her brother Rico and her little sister Brittany. We kept in touch through my Army years, until she moved out east to be with her father right after I got out of the Army. She has a beautiful personality.

When I went to Germany, I had all sorts of buddies that I worked with on a daily basis. But I had two really special friends over there, and they weren't in the military. I met Annette and Jutta at the local club where many of the American servicemen partied. Over the course of the two years that I was in Augsburg, the three of us became very close friends. Annette, who was finishing her studies to become a physical therapist, took me around to different parts of the region, and it was because of her that I really got a taste of what it was like to be German. At a point in my life where I really wasn't sure what was around the corner, their friendship helped ground me. I probably wouldn't have been able to stay in the Army past 1988 if it weren't for them.

Every once in a great while, you have someone step into your life that is so unique and unforgetable, you cannot help but be affected. Kelly Snyder is one such person. Kelly is the sort of friend that you can share your deepest, darkest secrets with (or at least most of them) without fear of grossing her out. She tells me about all her boyfriends, and I tell her about all my girlfriends, and we both trust that the other will speak up when one is acting stupid, and will be supportive when that support is needed. Everyone needs a friend like that, and I am blessed to have one.

Of course, Kelly is rather unique by anyone's standards. She will fill up a birthday card with glitter and wait for you to open it and have all the glitter fall out. She is absolutely mad about shoes, and loves to have clothing that matches her shoes. She loves to take pictures (wait.... that's a good thing! LOL), and she loves silly little gifts that speak more of the love that's in her heart than any grand yet meaningless gesture possibly could.

I have made some wonderful friends via the Internet. Two such friends are friends themselves. Christy and Kristal live next door to each other in California, and they are both really great people. Kristal plays piano and loves to go to dog shows to show her dogs (cute dogs, they are; she also has a bunny or two, if I remember correctly). She is also quite an accomplished square dancer (as opposed to just being square). Christy is a former gymnast who is a cheerleader for her high school (and quite a regular gym rat, I'm told). She has quite a knack for mathematics, and hopes to become a physical therapist someday (a worthy notion, methinks). Kristal doesn't log on as much anymore, but Christy and I keep up on a regular basis. These are two young ladies with a world of potential and opportunity lying at their doorstep. I see nothing but good things ahead for both of them.

Last Update: November 16th, 1998

Email: saxman@siu.edu

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