Friend's Reunion

Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold, for dear friends are hard to find and bring peace to the mind.

There are many things in life in which we need a certain amount of effort to make it happen. That includes making an effort to meet up with my old friends for a reunion for drink and a game of Balut.

About 8 to 9 years ago, I used to hang out with 4 of my friends namely, Jef, Pete (not in picture because he cannot make it), Wendy and Daphne (gang of 5) every Friday night over many years for drinks, singing and a game of Balut. It was during this Balut playing night that we enjoy ourselves and let our hair down and drown ourselves with laughter and shouts at our luck when we strike a score of Balut (see picture), chatting and talking about different topics and “gossiping”.

However, the chain of these Friday meetings was broken due to individual life commitments, busy work schedules, social functions and engagements. So the gang was dispersed for about last 3 to 4 years with the exception of the occasional get-together. However, we keep in touch with one another over the phone and sms. We really missed this Friday Nite rendezvous.

On 14.7.07 (Friday), I made an effort to round up all my gang of five, but Pete could not make it. I also made an effort to take a picture of our reunion. I feel that it’s hard for us to get together and I treasure this moment and want to remember it. What else can jog the memory other than a photo? A picture paints a thousand words. We agreed that we will make an effort to meet up at least once a month from now on - on the last Friday of every month. Of course, we have to put in effort once again.

Friendship isn’t always easily described. It has been said that Eskimos have a hundred different words for snow. Unfortunately, the vocabulary of the English language isn’t quite as vast, though it has ample opportunities to differentiate meaning. Certainly, Love is one of those opportunities. And so, too, is Friendship.

Instead of different words, however, we’re stuck with simple words and phrases. Friend. Close friend. Best friend. Childhood friend. Intimate friend. Trusted friend. Beloved friend. But whether you use different phrases or words, few can deny the nearly infinite meaning in such a simple word.

Friends are special people. We can’t pick our family, and we’re sorely limited in the number of them at any rate. Society and mores (and often our own conscience) dictate we select a single mate. But our friends can be as diverse and infinite as the phrases or simple words we choose. Our friends, in a very real sense, reflect the choices we make in life.

Friends Care, Friends Share, We Need Friends Everywhere!

P/S The strange instinct was, I wanted to take a photo of our friend’s reunion. And that was the last photo taken at the Club. The Sarawak Club unfortunately and sadly was burnt to the ground on the early morning of 27th July, 2006. Gone was the 130 years old club’s history. Currently, it is in the rebuilding process.