After 20 years a friend from my days hitch hiking across the U.S. and Canada makes contact out of thin air. He immediately sensed my needs and began to take care of each and every one of those needs he discovered. His gift giving was huge with financial gifts in the hundreds of dollars, all expense paid travel to his home in Canada, many trips to the Canadian Rockies and hot springs. He lavished so many gifts upon my arrival that it would literally stagger anyone's mind. I was overwhelmed, but in all honesty, the only thing I really wanted was simply his friendship.

It has been said that "You can't get something for nothing." In the case of my friendship with John, this is very true. With all the gift giving, I was "getting something" but I seemed to have nothing to give back in return. After almost a year, I believe that my friend John was hoping for some kind of reciprocation for his kindness and gifts, yet figuring out just what I was suppose to give back has me baffled beyond knowing. Since my life is being readied for something wonderful by the Father of Lights, I can spend all my time making a check list before departure. Truly there are so many matters to deal with and promises to keep and as Robert Frost said so beautifully, "..and miles to go before I sleep."

Yet after all the giving of gifts, travel and sight seeing with total care of every one of my material needs; my time for departure arrived and with it an unexpected and sudden abrupt drop off at the airport, after which all that lived for 20 years died in a moment. From the time my bags hit the departure drop off point where I would catch a flight back to my wife and my responsibilities in Alaska, I have never received a kind word from him since. There is now a great pain in his life as it is clear that my departure timing was not what he expected. So, I guess it is true, "you can't get something for nothing" and like wise, "you can't expects to get nothing for something." I was given a lot of some things and yet I gave nothing back that he expected."

The tough lesson learned, "Tis better to greet an old friend with nothing but love in your heart than to greet them with gifts that perish and lose the love you had." I went to my friend John with nothing but a desire to be with him and share in a friendship forged over a large part of life; in so doing I invested my love which can't be broken or destroyed. My friend John went to very great lengths to amass an enormous number of gifts, something I couldn't dream of imitating. As strange as it is, I felt I should make an effort to take some of the gifts given; however, once back in Alaska, all the gifts lost meaning and purpose for behind the gifts was a broken angry bitter heart.

Where Did He Go After Alaska??