Last week one of my childhood friends Dad died. He was one of my hero’s while growing up. Always friendly. Always smiling. Always encouraging.

When we were kids he took my friend and I to a beautiful beach in Ireland called Brittas Bay. I remember enjoying very happy carefree days with my friend there, rolling down sand dunes and splashing in the sea. Then taking a break for some sandwiches and tea. On those rare enough warm days in the Irish summer this is where this very kind hearted man and his wife would bring us.

The last time I met this man was when I was just after a long cycle in the Wicklow and Dublin hills last summer. He hardly recognised me in all my cycling gear! As we chatted he told me how much he missed cycling – that feeling of whizzing through the air and seeing the ground fly beneath you! (He cycled up until  very recently – he was in his late 80′s when he died last week) In the conversation he reminded me of how lucky I was to be able to enjoy the wonderful experience of cycling.

His wife too was another great person, another hero in my childhood book of heros. She passed away a couple of years ago and I feel she was sadly missed by her husband. I have written about her before and how inspirational she was – see “Keep Moving Forward”

Last weekend my friend who now lives in Chicago with his family returned for his Dad’s funeral. We got together again with many other childhood friends for the afternoon and in a nutshell we had a great laugh. A great laugh about stories from our childhood while learning about life. A great laugh connecting with each other as if we were “the lads” again. A great laugh, laughing about our ages now, pretty much all close enough to 50. It was simply a great laugh to be with great old friends whom I rarely see anymore. The best of friends.

Isen’t it time we all connected more with our great old friends.

I received this short video today, called “Around the Corner” and I have to say it puts this message across very strongly.

Enjoy, Sean