"A woman should have one friend who always makes her laugh...and one friend who always lets her cry." -Maya Angelou

Day 02: A picture of you and the person you've been closest with the longest.

My first response is, of course, my brother Ben.  Here's a pic of us, if you don't know who we are yet...

I look like I'm possessed by the devil. Why do my eyes have to go red in every picture? Because, obviously, I'm possessed. Really.

Anywhoo, back to the Day02 task. Ben. But it's too obvious an answer.  He's family.  Of course we're close. But just because you're family, does not mean you're actually close.  Ben & I are. But....still.

So thinking about it again, I have to say Julie.  Or Jules, as I fondly remember her. She & I have been friends since high school. Granted-- we've lost touch, we've reconnected, we've lost touch again, and we've reconnected again (the losing touch part-- ALL my fault-- because I'm a screwed up idiot. Who, in their right mind, could put up with me for so long?).  Thank God for Facebook, or neither one of us would know what's going on with the other. 

I found some pics of us from back in the day. I hate that I'm old enough to say, "back in the day".  Here's the first.

Man, we look so young. Don't I still look like that today, only with better hair?  Nope, No I don't.  I think I still have those same earrings.  That's Mad Dog 20/20 we're holding in our hands. Oh, the memories!!  We were in college in Kearney, NE during this time. It was so much fun...I have so many happy memories...too many to recount.  But the great thing about Julie is, she's hilarious.  I was at my apartment one night and she was in the dorms. We were chatting on the phone-- yes, I actually liked the phone then-- and she talked about the voicemail voice....I was laughing so hard, I almost peed my pants.  SHE should do stand-up, that's how funny she is.  She was always there for me, no matter how screwed up I was. God bless that girl.

A more recent pic of us was at the Anchor Inn for a ragae concert. I think it was around my birthday, but I don't recall exactly.  It was too long ago...and I have no idea who the guy is with Jules....

But I guarantee they keep in touch...because that's who Julie is.  She's loyal. She's the best friend a person could ask for. I miss our close friendship but am happy we're still in touch. We're not the same people we were in high school. We're not the same people we were in college. Heck, we're not even the same people we were 5 years ago.  But I'd wager a bet that she's still hilarious and I'm still neurotic.