Oldest Friends

 

I remember when our friendship began at the back fence of our family home in Kamsack. He was a little kid, maybe six or seven, riding back and forth in the back alley behind Shop-Rite, one of our local grocery stores. I vaguely remember throwing a ball in his general direction as a way of breaking the ice. That small encounter started a friendship that was fundamental in my youth.

Delton was our neighbour, two doors down. Though one year older than me, we went through a portion of our elementary school years in the same classes. We were polar opposites in every way. I was academically inclined; he was not. I was a notorious rule follower; he was notorious for the opposite reason. We were inseparable.

He felt like an extra brother in a home already bursting with siblings. We spent a lot of time at each other's houses and hours fishing at the local river. We threw the baseball back and forth thousands of times using our shed as a backstop. The dents along the bottom edge are a testament to how hard we were throwing.

In life we went our separate ways though the creation of Facebook allowed us to have vague ideas of what each was doing. It has probably been 35 years since we have seen each other in person.

Delton was a cancer survivor who came down with a bad case of the flu in recent weeks. He died early on the morning of December 18th, ironically the same date that his dad Frank passed. His mom, Mary, turns 90 today - not the happiest of birthdays I'm sure.

Memories were in abundance as I absorbed the news and tears started to flow. My heart goes out to his friends and family.  I don't have any photos to share that are easily accessible. Some would be buried in memory boxes in our storage locker. Instead I will share a portrait I did of Delton in 2017. 

Rest easy my friend.