My heart is heavy tonight guys… I just learned that a good friend passed away from liver failure. Unfortunately his demons with alcohol took him to the grave.
Jimmy and myself were the last ones in our ol gang.. just doing what onery teenage boys do. Fighting, chasing girls, drinking beer, etc.
Jimmy was my staunchest defenders when folks would try to make an issue out of my Native American heritage… he’d think nothing twice about splitting your skull if I was mean mouthed.
The first time I was really truly scared was when we were 17 and he went across the old wooden bridge south of town in his shortbed dodge doing in excess of 100 mph!!
I’m the last of the Mohicans so to say. Those teenagers are long gone now and I
I know tomorrow is never promised… but dang it guys .this hits hard.

I’m sorry about your pal. It’s eye opening when we realize that we aren’t in our late teens or twenties anymore . Youth is indeed wasted on the young

If you live long enough it gets awful lonely.

Sorry for the loss of your friend.

Sorry to hear of your loss.

Dang , life is too short ....sorry for your loss

Godspeed, you get to the point where you know less living folks than departed ones it’s just a fact of life for the survivors. I see people on TV from my years on earth and I think man they look rough.

Never hear from any of my friends from teenage years, I moved west when I was able to leave the city at nineteen. I still keep in touch with a few of the guys I went to gunschool with though. The tears have been mny, lot of changes , most are still alive,

It gets worse....one day you'll discover pretty much everyone you knew is moved away or dead...with no one left to give you a ride to pick up your truck at the shop....

Sorry to hear your having a tough time. I am only 45 and dont keep up with a single childhood friend except one cousin thats my best friend. We moved 3 times and I lost touch with some and never developed close relationships after. I have a few friends at work. Very few.

Its much more difficult to develop close friendships when we get older than it was as kids. Wife and I were talking about this last week. She lost her best friend from high-school 3 or 4 years ago but they had not keeo in contact much the last 10 years.

I found of all the people I’ve known with the exception of some family I’d guess less then a handful are in touch regularly, people are living their own lives mostly. I’d rather die in the river breaks trapping then in a bed that I can’t get out of there’s worse things then death out there.

Hang tough John....you got a a lot to offer the younger generation.
RIP to your buddy.

Sorry for that . I’ve been lucky to have a short tight group that are all still on the top of the sod , may your friend RIP

it does live hard

my grandmother said the curse of dying is you were dead

the curse of living a long life is you had to watch everyone you ever new your age older and many younger die.

she live to 95 long enough to watch all but one friend die
, her brother , a son , her husband , a grand daughter and 3 great grands all die

a good lesson to make younger friends maybe even your kids age , adopt some nieces and nephews might not have to watch them all die that way.

I know, in fact I am seriously considering setting up something for the kids when spring/summer comes. To identify different types of plants and trees that are not just educational, but might come in handy someday.
I’m not sure about the mushrooms though… too dang tricky and I don’t want to be blamed for a mistake.

Losing someone close to you is one of those forks in the road situations where there is no re-dos. Sounds like you were a good friend to him until the end. That's not that as common anymore as it probably used to be. Hang onto the good memories.