True, old friends

Old friends Dave Hursh, Bryant Monk and Tom Throne.
Old friends Dave Hursh, Bryant Monk and Tom Throne.

"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship."

Thomas Aquinas

One thing that I've found as an old Army brat is that I don't have a lot of close friends prior to college. We knew that once our parents were transferred to a new post that the chances of seeing the friends we made during the previous years were slim.

I was always envious of the wife, who grew up in a small town in north-central Kansas, surrounded by relatives and friends. There's something about being able to claim a hometown. Years later I came to appreciate going to her hometown and having people call me by name and tell me "Hi."

About the time I was graduating from college at the University of Kansas in the early '70s, my dad retired to Kansas City and they set up a new and more-permanent home. My senior year, I was able to claim Overland Park as my hometown, even though I knew few people, except for my college friends who were from there.

Now I don't want you to feel sorry for me. I wouldn't have traded my experiences for the world, especially the three years we spent in Europe.

However, there were two guys whom I was really close to in high school. Dave and Bryant lived down the street from me along the tree-lined parade ground at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., located northwest of Indianapolis. Fort Ben, now closed except for the military's finance center, was a small, picturesque post. By the way, the finance center is the second largest defense building, but still small enough that it fits inside the courtyard of the Pentagon.

We moved there in 1964 and Bryant and I were friends in Explorer Scouts. Dave got there in 1966 and lived near Bryant. We all became fast friends. They were both juniors when I was a sophomore, but we had good times. Dave and I double-dated once, because none of us had many dates.

After they graduated and went off to college, some of my friends at school wanted to know how my brother, Dave, was doing. I'd tell them I didn't have a brother. They acted surprised because they all thought we looked alike.

Then I graduated from Lawrence Central. My folks moved to Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and I was off to the University of Kansas. I saw Dave and Bryant again in 1972 after I graduated. I talked to Bryant in 1988 when I was in Indy for a Red Cross convention.

But things changed in 2008 when I came back for the 40th reunion. Dave had moved back to Indy. I knew that because of I found his name and number in whitepages.com. I also found Bryant's number the same way. I was reconnected and it seemed we had just talked yesterday. I found out then that Dave had worked for Walmart in Bentonville as a new store construction manager.

It was a great reunion weekend.

Then we became Facebook friends, sharing comments and likes, over the years.

Now flash forward to late 2014, and Bryant told me on Facebook to call him. I did and he gave me the news that Dave was having some health issues. I talked to Dave and kept in touch with Bryant, who is a prostate cancer survivor, over the past couple of months.

But I knew I needed to get there and see them. I flew to Indy for a quick weekend trip a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time sitting on Dave's patio talking old times. Catching up on where other friends were and talking about our families. You wouldn't have known it was seven year since we'd seen each other.

We went to a sports bar to watch the Kentucky Derby. Interestingly, we had to be out of there by 7:30 p.m. or face a $25 charge to watch the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. None of us old geezers had any ambition to stay up until midnight to watch it. And we were glad we didn't. That appeared to be a dog of a fight.

However, Dave had placed an online bet (it's legal in Indiana) from a tip a friend gave him. His horse tried to close at the end, which made it exciting. But, alas, if finished fourth.

Dave and I attended church, had brunch with Dave's brother, Dan, who is 10 years younger than us, and then met Bryant at the Eiteljorg Museum, which is a Native American museum, that was very cool.

There were some tears shed, particularly by me, when we said our goodbyes, but we promised that we would get together soon. Dave is planning a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, in July. I told him he had to take a southerly route home and stop in Centerton to see us because I don't think he'll recognize the Bentonville/Rogers area.

We all agreed that we had a great time and that we need to get together more often. We even talked about meeting halfway in St. Louis later this year. I suggested a trip to the Bowling Hall of Fame. Followed by the short tour at the Budweiser Brewery. They liked the second idea better.

I think Thomas Aquinas we right about friendship. Bryant, Dave and I are true friends, even if distance has kept us apart much of our lives. I can't wait to see them again.

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Throne is managing editor of The Weekly Vista.

Editorial on 05/13/2015