WHAT DO YOU GET A BEST BUDDY ON HIS BIRTHDAY?

WHAT DO YOU GET A BEST BUDDY ON HIS BIRTHDAY?

I hope everyone everwhere has at least one Best Buddy. I have been fortunate in my life to have a number of friends, but of all of them a few truly stand out over the years as Best Buddies. The following is a general short list of L.A. Steel’s Best Buddy requirements.

1. They generally share the same vices.

2. They generally return your phone calls.

3. Regardless of what you ask of them they generally try to give you a straight answer, or fulfill your request.

4. They generally share the same political views.

5. We are always happy to see other.

6. With the exceptions of their health, wealth, or family obligations, they always accept your party invitations.

7. Regardless of who or what your “better half ” is , they try their best not to insult them or recommend separation or divorce; unless they have been physically or verbally assaulted by them.

8. They generally forgive all of your offenses or personal faults; because you forgive theirs. (That is always a hard and fast rule of a good friendship.)

10. They will attend your funeral if it is at all possible for them to do so.

11. Best Buddys never send flowers to each other; unless they are botanists or women .

This is a general list of Best Buddy requirements. All Best Buddies usually have to meet certain requirements mentioned, or not mentioned on this list to qualify for Best Buddy status.

It is only my opinion , but deciding on a Best Buddy Birthday Gift is extremely difficult. If the Birthday Buddy is a great friend of yours, then no gift really seems appropriate except remembering their birthday with a phone call or a card. If they are the kind of friend that expects something more ; then the gift must be something of a more personal nature. Maybe a pet ferret, or a gift certificate to the VIP Lounge for a belated birthday lap dance; these can be appropriate gifts for either gender, depending on the age and attitude of your Best Buddy.

I am grateful to my Best Buddies over the many years for our shared experiences and conversations. A Best Buddy of mine from many years ago once quoted to me a passage from a poem ; that he partially remembered . He could not remember the name of the poem or the poet either. As we sat on the wharf of his cottage, one Sunday afternoon; after speeding across the lake at a 100 miles an hour, he said, ” Friends are like flowers, some are colorful annuals and some are perrenials, but true friends are like oak trees planted in our front yard. ” Neither of us really wanted oak trees or had oak trees in our front yards; because they clog up gutters, drop acorns, and are a mess in the fall . In consideration of each others time , tastes, and dislike of continually having to clean our yards, we preferred to think of ourselves as tall evergreens planted in each others’ front yard.

So if you are in a quandry about what to get a Best Buddy for their birthday, consider an evergreen for their front yard, or if they don’t have a front yard , get them a potted evergreen shrub, that they can place in a window.

L.A. STEEL