Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

With some friends you seem to grow closer as time rolls on. Others seem to be lost in the bustle and shuffle of life. Richard Egan was a scouting friend of mine when I was a young man in my teens, first establishing my identity. I grew to know Richard from some of my other friends and when I was elected a member of the Order of the Arrow we came to know each other very well.

We both had the same mission. We both wanted to take an organization that was supposed to be a boy’s organization, and take it back from the adults. Adults tend to run youth programs, particular scouting programs, as they seem to think the youth want them to run it, rather than the youth having more input. We had a great advisor for our Order of the Arrow Lodge named George Udink. His only failing was that he wanted to run the program. Well, we were able to rest some of the control of program away from the adults and we actually had a great time.

Once we went away to college, I went to one school and he went away to another. We drifted apart as I established my own family and he remained single. We no longer see much of each other, but for a while we were close friends.

We have some special friends.  They are Gary and Karen Christensen.  Gary and I have been close since Junior High School when we both launched failed careers as class officers.  I am amazed that I ever tried that, and Gary tried it too.  In any event, Gary and Karen were both brought to my mind because if I get this right, today there last child Randy is getting married.

 

Gary and Karen are the types of friends that you can laugh with and have a good time, whether it is at dinner, walking around, or just talking and bringing ourselves up to date on their family and lives.  They have been there for us whenever we have needed support.  We are so glad that we have friends like this.

Here I sit, in Philip Ho’s office room using his computer, looking for the last couple of hours over Tao Yuan before we leave to return to the states.  I am very sad to be doing so.  This has been an excellent experience.  The only bad thing that has happened I heard about this morning.

My good friend Clark DeWaal, had a heart attack on Thursday morning here in Taiwan and has been taken home to our heavenly father.  I am so sad, and wish that I could have been with him when he passed, so he could have had someone here who could have helped.  He was a good friend, particularly as we studied together here in Taiwan as students at National Taiwan University and the Kuo You Re Bau Language Center.  He was such fun, with his wife Lorraine.  I am sad this has happened before we left.  He passed while here in Taiwan on Thursday morning the 10th, while on a business trip.

In any event, I got up this morning, and prepared to leave for church after getting that bad news.  We went to Sacrament Meeting in the Tao Yuan 1st Ward and then Julie and I drove to Chung Li to see if I could find the Elders who said they had information on someone that I had baptized.  They had his address, we got it, and then we returned to Tao Yuan where we are finishing our packing and then we leave for America.  I am so sad.  This has been a wonderful experience.  Well, that is about it for now.

Some people instantly click with you and become life long friends.  Such are the Taylors, Mike and Sharon.  They became our friends when we were in a state far removed from that which we had originally called home.  It was their good humor, unwavering support for us, and those Friday night joint dates that helped us keep our sanity through job stress, church stress, and more importantly, the raising of young families.

The Taylors were our mentors.  We love them because they loved us and they did so unconditionally.  We saw them recently and I felt like we had never separated.  I am so glad they became our friends.

Some people are there for you when the going gets tough. I suspect that anyone of us that have been around long enough in this modern, cold, age of ours have had experiences where we have lost a job, been threatened by some organization, or just feel the world is against us. Bob Smith has been there for me.

Bob is a different guy, as my family will often say. However, he was there for me when the going got tough, and he helped the tough get going. He supported me through job transitions, through challenges to my sanity, and he has been a steady ally during my battle of the bulge. He has been there for me, and for that I will ever be grateful to him.

Bonnie and I recently had lunch in Salt Lake with old friends.  The Taylors are good friends that we first met in Michigan many years ago.  When you live somewhere a long way from “home” the home that you knew and grew up in, you tend to look for people with whom you can relate.

The Taylors are such people.  We met them first in Detroit in our church.  We immediately connected with them emotionally and spiritually.  It is refreshing to know that after 20 years of really not seeing them that the same connection is still there.  We had lunch with them and it was like old times.  We enjoyed what they had to say and we enjoyed catching up with their lives.  Old friends are great to see again.

One of the challenges of growing older is that you don’t get to see your best friends once you get married, settle down, and start your own careers. You are all together in High School, and in this case, room together during college, but then life changes. I remember as a young man, before my mission, thinking that all of my friends would be close to me and live by me forever. However, that is not the case.

Serving a mission was also a place to meet and make an army of new friends. They have become old friends too, seperated by the gulf of years since I have returned home from my mission to Taiwan.

The joy is great when you get to see your dear friends again. Recently while vacationing in Washington we met and were runited with Scott and Verna Rhine again, after years of not seeing them. What a joyous reunion. We loved the opportunity to get together, talk about old times, and catch up on families.

HardyFamily/dadphoto/MikeFriends/Scott_and_Verna.jpg
Scott and Verna Rhine at their home in Oak Harbor, Washington.

That is one of the blessings of all the years that pass by. Life becomes rich with wonderful memories and experiences. That makes up for the aches and pains, the failing memory, and the bodies that now have diseases that they didn’t have before. I thank my God for old and true friends.

A reunion of Taiwan Missionaries at the April 2005 Jackson Group Missionary reunion. Left to Right:
Gary Silvers, Steve Markham, Mike Hardy, and Elder Allen Andersen, currently an Area Authority Seventy and Cousenlor in the Asia Area Presidency.

One thing that I have discovered in this life is the value of old, good, and true friends. When these friends are ones that both a husband and a wife can enjoy, then it is doubly wonderful.

We have had three sets of real wonderful friends. One such set is Gary and Karen Christensen.

They have been our friends for a long time. We love them and enjoy their friendship. We have suffered hardships together, done many wonderful things together, and then get together for dinner and a show. We did that yesterday, going and seeing having dinner at the Jordan Commons and then seeing a show.

Mike and Sharon Taylor were great friends. They made our sojourn in Michigan a happy one and we sure enjoyed their friendship and their love. Brent and Marie Grady were another such set of friends. We have loved our nights out with them. We love our true friends.

Of course, there are otherr couples that we have loved such as the DeWaals, the Browns, and then their are friends that Bonnie and I have both had. Bob Smith and I have also been good friends. Bob is someone who has helped me through some tough times. We come from different backgrounds, but I think we have complimented each other.

I certainly hope that my children can enjoy good friends.