We all have friendships. Those you have had for awhile. New ones. Maybe you’ve moved, retired somewhere or just met some friends along the way. Friends are key. Children move on to build their own lives and families. Close relatives pass away. But your friends are and will be there always … remain a central part of our lives.

We Brickleys have moved twice. Once from Philadelphia to Hartford, CT. Then to Atlanta. We had good friends in Hartford and have good friends here in Atlanta. In truth… our great friends? Those we had in Philadelphia. Those we left 37 years ago when we journeyed to CT.Why “good” friends in two places and “great” in the other? Try 50+ years of the friendships we enjoyed in Philadelphia. History. Chemistry. The stuff that makes people come to love one another. Spoken or unspoken.

This past week Nancy and I joined Bonnie, Donny and Aileen. Our three great friends from Philadelphia for a trip to Maine. Frankly, I wondered why the hell we were going there. But being with these guys? Well, let’s just say we could probably have fun together living in an igloo on the polar ice cap. Catch a gaze… make eye contact with any one of these three and the faint feelings of the history, experiences we’ve shared over the decades flash back to me. So… on to Maine. The song by Chicago, “Baby What a Big Surprise.” has lyrics that go like this, “Baby what a big surprise… right before my very eyes… Oh, oh, oh, woah, oh.” And… Oh, woah! Was Maine full of surprises. The small town of Camden. All I could picture was the run down place in NJ. But this was so quaint. So beautiful in it’s simplicity. A surprise!

We stayed at the surprisingly wonderful Hartsfield Inn. Shops (surprisingly expensive; I’ll never forget the $600. bathrobe) People (surprisingly warm and pleasant). Restaurants (The Harbor Side, The Camden Deli, Peter Otts… other’s) all fun surprises.The schooner we sailed for two hours on rough seas. Surprisingly cold and challenging. Ugh! But that’s Ok. We did it.Aileen’s surprise…“Oopsie!” We’ll leave it at that.The Farnsworth Museum celebrating Andrew Wyeth in Rockland. Wow!

The beautiful winery we visited. And just strolling the streets. Finally all the laughter. The hilarity. The four of us are perfect audiences for each other. If laughter is the best medicine, we were a pharmacy… all week.

So all the ingredients came together. Fueled by fifty years of energy and love for each. More trips planned. This one was special.