Second grade I wanted a baseball
My friend wanted a rubber band balsa plane
We were from poor fatherless families
We shared our wants in class
Mom could not justify buying me a ball
But Christmas children drew names
Each student bought a present for another student
We traded to get each others name
It was a friendship lasting to High school
When it was time to serve our country
We joined the military on the buddy plan
The buddy plan lasted two weeks
There were gaps in our friendship
I went away to college, married
One day he came to my house gave my wife his car
He asked but for one thing a dollar to change title
Forty some years we never saw him never asked
The day he called and said, "Bet you don't recognize--!"
We met his wife blank spaces were filled in
Good friends don't ask to fill in the blanks
I remember the days in the backyard one on one basketball
Hunting for Cougars in the wild when I wouldn't shoot
In the day a seventy five dollar bounty was the goal