A Wealth of Friendship

A late-life serendipity for me is how lavishly I have been blessed by the wealth of an otherwise common commodity: extraordinary friends. They have sustained, counseled, encouraged, and advised us. We have also laughed and cried together.
This small volume wants to give tribute to them and simultaneously explicate the things that contribute to the treasury of true friendship.
One might aver that our friends are way better than we deserved (true!) or that the Lord has provided us with an exquisite collection of friends. If so, they may be emulated as peak performers. Or if they are par, then we all should attempt to have and keep friends like this.
Each of the friends below are archetypes-they are larger than life in some ways. I have sought to provide brief summaries at the end of each chapter in terms of honest memories of the best of times, followed by a summary of exemplary traits.
These admirable friends who mean so much to me have taught me what friendship is like. I hope our friendships depicted in this brief memoir of thanks will help you appreciate (or write about) your own.