Friends

Dear Reader, this is a simple Facebook post I wrote last week. Since it's gotten so many likes and shares, I decided to slap it on my blog. Thanks for being here.  

No matter where in Glens Falls you lived, no matter what your parents did for a living (or if you even had parents), or how smart you were or whether you spent half your day in in-school suspension; whether your cool factor was to the moon or in the negative, if you went to the outdoor parties, you'd eventually be among a backslapping, hugging, hanging, singing, laughing bunch of friends.

We were who we were and in those moments no one's backstory was more important than a moment of understanding or shared experience. The empathy, the admiration, the respect, the way we couldn't wait to see each other again, and even our shared sadness...it all blossomed, it all came about because of a foundation that began as a single night in the woods.

Cheers to the millionaire's daughter holding hands with the boy from the poorest street in town. Cheers to the kid who never said anything in class but who had a place and a say in the crowd. Cheers to the times, because our outdoor gatherings were just "something kids do". When I think of these days, when I see the photographs here, when I look upon faces I haven't looked upon in a while but I can still see you sitting on a log in your CB jacket or flannel shirt, with the shadows of a 5 foot bonfire on your face, a cup in your hand and Boston playing on someone's car radio, my heart is full.