Old Goat

I am not sure if my grief is because of the loss of such a friend, or if I am so guilt ridden that my heart is breaking....... I lost a friend tonight at 5:00. No warning, nothing, he was just gone..... It is the phone call that takes your heart and squeezes it till all the blood drips out and nothing but pain is left.... Nelson Trobrough was his name and he was a hoot.... We were friends for years and years and there are more good times to remember than I could possibly put to pen...... He and I would have verbal spars over a plate of fried zucchini sticks every Friday night after the Church bowling league... There would be 6 or 8 of us sitting around the table and we would laugh and laugh…….. I don’t know when the nickname old goat came into play but somehow it stuck……He was known from that day till this as the old goat.……. That was back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It is hard for me to understand that he is gone………. He was just 60 something and so full of life………….. I miss him………… Our lives took a turn a few years ago and we did not get to see much of each other in the past 10 years……… His sweet wife Jean and I talk often on the phone but we just did not find time to visit……… How sad it is that we become too busy with life that we fail to take time for our friends……. I cannot even tell you what has kept me away this past year.. I think it has been a year since I talked to Nelson. I think it has been a year, maybe not but it has been too long, and now he is gone………. I have cried and cried and as I write this blog I cry…………I will make a pledge to take more time for my friends, I will talk to the Lord tonight about my failure as a friend and I will ask the Lord to help me do better….. I will go see Jean tomorrow and I will cry…………. I think I need her forgiveness but it is not about me, but I need to be forgiven. How hard it is to lose someone that you love and I loved Nelson….. It will be hard for me to say good bye to him……….. But he has moved into my future and I will see him again………………..

This is dedicated to Nelson Trobrough........ a good friend....... He made me laugh......