Chapter 1. Chapter 22

Synopsis

Ned and Eric own and operate a small cruise boat off the Florida coast. The cruise takes gamblers out to sea for a day. They can eat, drink, play the slot machines, and be entertained. Being naval history buffs, the partners often remark how they and their friends move through the waters of life in a web of interdependent social and family relationships, much like the Allied merchant ships of World War II that sailed together for protection.

The walls of the casino/bar deck are festooned with photos celebrating significant events and people in the lives of Ned and Eric over the past 40 years: their graduation from high school, their service in the U.S. Navy, family shots from their first and second marriages, fishing and hunting buddies, and business associates.

Nellie, one of the gamblers, looks at the pictures highlighting Ned’s and Eric’s lives, and comments that she has progressed from attending weddings to baby showers to raising kids to retiring. She laments that now she spends too much time attending funerals.

Go to: www.google.com (enter this exact search string: Friendships are Important Across the Years February 27, 2004; also search for the article entitled, “How to Maintain Friendships Through all of Life's Changes”).