Today, is an odd day to me. One of gratitude, acceptance, and vulnerability.

So, as such, let me thank a few people in particular, whether they are around to hear it or not.

To those that have passed. Many will not understand these words, but they are for you.

I am busted. I am broken. I am bloody. I am sore. None of it matters. I am your friend. T2C.

A short while ago, my life long friend Mike died. He left his sister, and his wife, (Yes, I said it lady, get over it), to carry on without him. An inspiring individual that came from the same background, good and bad, that I did. Mike excelled at being able to blend himself into any situation, any culture, any circumstance, and come out of it, somehow better and with more friends.

Mike learned to change his methods and his views to allow himself to be happy, and as such, was blessed with an unparalleled life that he lived to the fullest. Mike and I shared the same, faith, in Duty, Honor, Love, and Friendship, that many people around us, could never truly understand. Mike was more than a friend to me, he was my Brother. Not by blood or anything, but my Brother all the same.

My friend Ali, is one of those people, who life has kicked around. Condemned, criticized, and ostracized, by many people through her life, she continues to stand in a way that would make any soldier, any person, proud to call her friend.

What makes her extraordinary, and I do mean extraordinary, is that she still looks at the cup as being, “half-full”. All of the shit she has dealt with, including cancer, and this woman still has a positive outlook on life. A “Mother Bear” to those lucky enough to be around her, Ali receives pleasure, in helping those around her, and is genuinely concerned for the happiness of those lucky enough to be in her life. And if you ever looked in her direction and did not see the type of person she is, then you have lost something, and your life is poorer for it. Ali is a friend in the truest sense of the word.

Mike and Ali are the reason that I am putting my writing out into the world. (Mainly because the jackasses wouldn’t stop harassing me about wanting me to write an actual book.)

I have been blessed by knowing these people, and having them involved in my life, and I hope that you have friends such as these yourself.

To Mike and Ali; Thank you.

Make a new friend. Enjoy what you do.