In the Summer of 1994 I spent a month working for the DNR in the extremely Northwoods of Wisconsin at a Youth Conservation Camp.  It was during this time that I met someone who would become my best friend and so much more through the years.  This is the story of ‘us’ and everything that has occurred up to the present day.  The story of The Best Friend will play out over numerous posts as there is so much to tell.  Enjoy!

I remember the exact moment when I met him.

He walked up to me, with a cute blonde girl at his side, and said Hi! I’m _____ and this is _____.  We are retreads….meaning we just spent the last 4 weeks here and are staying through for the next 4.

I introduced myself and as the blonde girl excused herself, we continued our conversation.

After filling me in on what to expect for the next 4 weeks, he asked me were I was from.  We were both very surprised to learn that we lived about 20 minutes away from each other.  Other than him, there was one other person who was from Green Bay and I actually knew her since we grew up together.

As the days passed, we became very close and were almost attached at the hip.

About 2 weeks later things took a turn and he got sent home, but that did not stop us from talking.

We continued to call each other while I was still stuck at camp and him hundreds of miles back at home.  Not only did we talk on the phone, we wrote letters….LOTS of letters.

Once I returned home, the letters and phone calls continued.

We would talk on the phone late at night while watching the Jerry Springer show and mocking the guests.

That September, my family was heading to the races to support a driver my dad currently sponsored and it just so happened that my friend lived in the town we were headed too.  After talking it over with my parents, they agreed to pick my friend up on the way so he could join us.

After we picked him up and arrived at the race track, he opened up to me and informed me that he had gotten into some trouble and was currently on the bracelet.  He didn’t want to tell me over the phone or in a letter because he feared I would stop talking to him.

It was at that moment that I made a promise to stay by his side and we carried on with our evening together.

I was enjoying just being able to hang out with him again.

Had I known at that point that I would continue to support him and be by his side for so long and break that promise 15 years later, only to be hurt over and over again, I never would have uttered those words.