Friendship Never Fade
I grew up in Jamaica Plain， an urbancommunity located on the outskirts ofBoston， Massachusetts. In the 1940s it was awholesome， quaint little community. It was myhome and I loved it there； back then I thoughtI would never leave. My best friend Rose and Iused to collectively dream about raising a familyof our own someday. We had it all planned outto live next door to one another.
Our dream remained alive through gradeschool， high school， and even beyond. Rose wasmy maid of honor when I got married in 1953to the love of my life， Dick. Even then she jokedthat she was just one perfect guy short of beingmarried， thus bringing us closer to our dream.
Meanwhile， Dick aspired to be an officer in theMarines and I fully supported his ambitions.
I realized that he might be stationed far awayfrom Jamaica Plain， but I told him I wouldrelocate and adjust. The idea of experiencingnew places together seemed somewhat romanticto me.
So， in 1955 Dick was stationed in Alaskaand we relocated. Rose was sad to see me leave，but wished me the best of luck. Rose and Iremained in touch for a few years via periodicphone call but after a while we lost trackof one another. Back in the 1950s it wasa lot more difficult to stay in touch withsomeone over a long distance， especially ifyou were relocating every few years. Therewere no email addresses or transferablephone number and directory lookupservices were mediocre at best.
I thought of her several times overthe years. Once in the mid 1960s whenI was visiting the Greater Boston area Itried to determine her whereabout but mysearch turned up empty-handed. JamaicaPlain had changed drastically in the 10years I was gone. A pretty obvious shift inincome demographics was affecting my oldneighborhood. My family had moved out ofthe area， as did many of the people I usedto know. Rose was nowhere to be found.
52 years passed and we never spoke.
Ive since raised a family of five， all ofwhom now have families of their own，and Dick passed away a few years ago.
Basically， a lifetime has passed. Now hereI am at the doorstep to my 80th birthdayand I receive a random phone call on anidle Wednesday afternoon. “Hello？” I said.
“Hi Natalie， its Rose，” the voice on theother end replied. “Its been so long. I dontknow if you remember me， but we used tobe best friends in Jamaica Plain when wewere kids，” she said.
We havent seen each other yet， butwe have spent countless hours on thephone， catching up on 52 years of our lives.
The interesting thing is that even after 52years of separation， our personalities andinterests are still extremely similar. Weboth share a passion for several hobbiesthat we each picked up independentlyseveral years after we lost touch with oneanother. It almost feels like we are pickingup right where we left off， which is reallystrange considering the circumstances.
Her husband passed away a few yearsago as well， but she mailed me severalphotographs of her family that were takenover the years. Its so crazy， just lookingat the photos and listening to her describeher family reminds me of my own； areasonably large， healthy family. Part of mefeels like we led fairly similar lives.
I dont think the numerous similaritiesbetween our two lives are a coincidenceeither. I think it shows that we didnt justcall each other best friend we truly werebest friend and even now we can be bestfriends again. Real friends have two thingsin common： a compatible personality anda strong-willed character. The compatiblepersonality is what initiates the connectionbetween two people and a strong-willedcharacter at both ends is what maintainsthe connection. If those two ingredientsare present in a friendship， the friendshipis for real， and can thus sustain the testsof time and prolonged absence withoutfaltering.
我的挚友阿诺德
我们搬家到亚利桑那州的途中发生了交通意外，我从此失去了我最好的朋友阿诺德。阿诺德是一只八个月大的宠物猪，是他令我更懂得爱，懂得给予和维系情谊。他的离去令我伤心欲绝，不过我还是常感谢上帝赐予我与阿诺德相处的那段短暂却快乐的时光。
凡是考虑想养宠物猪的人都应该知道，如果你真心疼它，全身心地伺候它，小猪就会成为你最棒的朋友。在这个与小猪一起探索相处的过程中，你一定会非常着迷，发现其中有着无穷的乐趣。言语是无法表达这种关系的，只有亲身经历才能深刻体会。
阿诺德并不知道自己是一只猪，他以为自己就是我们家的一员，所以他会观察模仿我、我太太、我两个女儿还有我家小猎犬的一举一动。他深信我们所有人都爱他，事实的确如此，就算有时候他会耍脾气来吸引我们的注意力。他来到我们家的第一个星期（7周大的时候）就已经懂得了我们叫他的名字，学会了怎么坐，还有怎么用那个小盒子。
你坐在沙发上看电视的时候他喜欢睡在你大腿上。他也不管自己已经长到45磅重，就是要你每天晚上八点准时把他抬到你大腿上来，湿乎乎的鼻子在你的脖子和肩膀之间温存一番后，眨眼工夫就酣睡起来了。开始的时候他会“鼾鼾”地提醒你他到点该休息了，而如果你没反应，他就会用鼻子碰你的脚，直到你把他抱起为止。他倒想一整晚睡在你腿上，但他这么重，你根本是受不了的，所以得把他顺势滑到旁边的沙发上，让他鼻子四脚朝天地呼呼大睡。只要他感觉到你就在他身边，他会放心尽情地打他的呼噜睡他的觉；但是一旦你准备走开，他会马上醒过来。他沉睡的时候，我们会在他那扁鼻子上摆像盐瓶那样的小玩意儿而要保持平衡不倒，这样一玩儿就是几个小时，大家玩得不亦乐乎。
在我们那方圆五英亩的乡下，我做什么家务杂事阿诺德都会帮我一把。只要他跟在你脚跟后面，兴趣盎然地看你在忙，就足以让最索然无味的杂务变得有趣起来。他在外面溜达觅食的时候，只要你喊他的名字，他就会快速飞奔过来，“鼾鼾”地一路叫着，跑到离你不远的地方他又会跟你玩起捉迷藏来，左转右转地绕着圈，一副凯旋的模样，然后才静下来慢慢走到你跟前，摇摇尾巴，好像眨着眼跟你说：“哈，总算找到你啦！”
他还和我一起组装了一架小型飞机和一辆运载飞机的特制拖车。我打算哪天把他带上跟我一起飞翔蓝天。他很喜欢玩那些插座零件，在工场里把它们推来推去。每当我为一些高难度的工作伤透脑筋，灰心丧气的时候，阿诺德就会从拖车的下面钻出来，湿乎乎的鼻子伸到我的耳边，“鼾鼾”地似乎在说“休息一会儿，跟我玩儿一会儿，然后什么事都会迎刃而解！”果真有效，而且每次都行。只要我们能停一停，仔细看看，就会发现上帝绝妙的创造物总以最特别的方式照顾我们。上帝派阿诺德来给我们上了这人生的重要一课，我们终生难忘。
我太太和两个女儿都说阿诺德跟我亲密得就像成了我儿子一样，一个我们家一直缺少的角色。无论在家里聊天还是和朋友聊天总是离不开阿诺德这个主题。邻居的小孩会预约来我们家，迫不及待要来和阿诺德玩。
我们去哪里，阿诺德几乎都跟我们在一起——宠物用品超市、沃尔马超市、生日派对，圣诞假期他还跟我们一起到奶奶家去。他喜欢坐在手推车或者购物篮里，所到之处都大受欢迎。阿诺德已经在我们生活中拥有了一个重要的位置，所以当我们要搬到另一个州买房子时，我们都坚持要在合同里附上街坊邻居的联合书面许诺，同意让阿诺德在该区生活，这样我们才会考虑在那些名区里买房。
离开老家的那天，我们和教友一起吃了饯行午餐。在场的每个人都走到货柜车旁边，跟里面的阿诺德和我们的其他宠物告别。可悲的是，在路上一辆半拖车呼啸而过，强烈的侧风气流使我们的拖车失控，货柜继而被抛到40英尺的桥下。那天家中成员损失惨重，我们的阿诺德、甜甜和莲娜都离开我们了。阿诺德如此地信任我，我却没法保护他，我真的很难受。不过，我将永远珍藏和他一起的深情画面，感激他带给我的这段美好回忆。
My Good Friend Arnold
I recently lost my best friend Arnold in an automobile accidentwhile moving my family to our new home in Arizona. Arnold was an8-month-old pot belly who taught me so much about love， devotionand companionship. I am devastated by his loss， but thank God dailyfor blessing me with the joy of having Arnold for his short life.
Anyone contemplating a potbelly as a pet should know that ifyou are a true pet lover and devoteyourself to them， a pot belly willmake the most wonderful friend.
