I wrote this as a Letter To The Editor on New Year’s Day, 1998. On Monday of this week I lost my best friend, John Lambeth. This letter sums up how we felt about each other:
The recent deaths of two pairs of best friends made me stop and appreciate what I have.
The first was a couple of Irishmen, one Catholic, one Protestant, killed simultaneously in a pub blast. The news story said they’d been best friends since childhood.
The very same week two preachers were killed by a drunk driver here in the States. Likewise, news reports say they’d been inseparable since childhood.
My best friend/mainmost fishing partner and I don’t go back quite that far. Just to June of 1981.
But, I think we’re just as close.
Not too long ago he and I and his wife were talking at a party and he said, “Wife, you know who I love more than you?”
She said, “No, sir.”
“He said, “Nobody. You know who I love next, after you? This guy,” he said, one arm around her shoulder and one around mine.
Best friends. It’s a pretty special thing.
I hope you have one.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
