Friday, April 26, 2013

Friends

Usually when I type a quote on Across the Way I put it in italics. With the following quote, I won't do that as italics can be more difficult to read and I want to make this as easy to read as possible because it meant a lot to me when I read it. Why? Because it reminded me of you, of me and you, my readers, my friends. It was written by Faith Baldwin:

"I have a friend whose ways are other than mine; 
we have our own likes, dislikes, prejudices and enthusiasms.
I like my steak rare, she prefers hers well done, so each considers the other
in this unimportant respect a barbarian.
I stay up late, she goes to bed early;
I'm crazy about crossword puzzles, she couldn't care less about them.
We differ about some books, plays, television productions, colors and fashion.
Sometimes, of course, we agree.
It's all trivial enough and we recognize our similarity,
one to the other--and to other people.
Differences make each of us himself, but likenesses made us part of a far larger world.
My friend and I have known anxieties, sorrows, and suffering;
we are often insecure and troubled.
We look upon the changing face of nature and may see different aspects of it,
but we share, as we look.
We can laugh or cry together and recognize the essential needs we also share.

So the difference makes us individuals, but the likeness makes us sisters."

Faith Baldwin in Evening Star


As I read this I immediately thought of my blogging friends, both those who also blog and those who don't but who I hear from through comments or email. What Faith Baldwin has written about her friend is also true, I think, or it should be, of those I communicate with in this wonderful electronic friendship. Naturally, it is easy and comfortable to have friends who are similar to me. You are important to me. But it is also important to me to have friends who delight me with your differences. 

It was also Faith Baldwin who wrote, "It is said that we don't make our friends, that we simply recognize them."

Isn't that an exciting sentence! I hope I can keep my eyes open and recognize friends that I meet through Across the Way or through those blogs I visit or through private emails like those I have had from a dear Oklahoma friend. I can't help but believe that there are even readers who I've never met who recognize me as their friend. I send out a warm hello to you. I hope you're doing well and that life is kind to you.


This picture is of a vintage Hallmark card that I found at Goodwill. It is my bookmark in the book quoted from above, Faith Baldwin's Evening Star. I love it and I hope you will too. It is my little gift to you today, my friend.



16 comments:

  1. Thanks for introducing me to Faith Baldwin!

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  2. Well said. Thanks once again for sharing meaningful words that you have discovered.

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  3. You are so right. I look back over the years at the friends I connected with and it was immediate and long lasting. Thank you, too, for introducing me to Faith Baldwin!

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  4. It is so wonderful meeting all of you-I agree that friends recognize each other even without a word spoken.
    Have a good weekend

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  5. Dewena, Once my friend Ruth Ann walked into a room and said"look at all these strangers!"....I told her they were just friends we haven't met yet. I will speak to strangers...who knows it may be the start of a great friendship. xoxo, Susie

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  6. Hi Dewana, I cannot say how this resonates with me. I had a dear friend who was a nurse and we carpooled together. I was hyper and ate fast and would be finished and she would still be getting her food ready to eat. We laughed about that all the time but got along so well for years. I often get along better with opposites. I think there are many kindred spirits here in the blogs though. I have met local women here through my blog and now we are good friends. I may help one start a blog. Have a lovely weekend, Olive

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  7. oh ellie v. i like what you said! it's the epitome of dewena's post.
    when i read posts and then all the comments it's as if i've been to a little tea party. and i could even stay in my pj's if i wanted to! LOL.
    dewena.
    faith baldwin is another favorite. i wonder if she was talking about her dear friend gladys taber ~ who's also a favorite of mine.
    thank you for this gift today! of a little more of you and what you like.
    i would think people could never feel lonely anymore. there are too many of us that are reaching out to each other ~ and the next stranger waiting to be a friend! xo

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  8. Dear friend,
    Thank you for sharing. Happy day from middle TN!

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  9. my guess is they also accept each other...unconditionally and that makes a world of difference. lovely post, Dewena.

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  10. A lovely share! Thank you for sharing with us today. You always say something to make a gal smile! With the way the world is it is nice to have friends, even faraway ones, to share with! Have a blessed weekend.

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  11. I love that line how we don't make our friends we recognize them...I feel that so deeply especially now. I have known many people but I am in awe with the friends that stuck around; the friends that were more than willing to write a recommendation about us becoming parents, the friend that I call after not speaking to her for months because of the miles between us and we start from where we left off. The new friends I made in the past 4 years because of a common bond that we experience as new parents and lastly the newer friends I made because of their wonderful honest words...imagine, how does that happen? Thank you beautiful post!

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  12. I enjoyed reading the quote...and I think it does apply to all friendships, especially bloggy friends! Thanks for sharing it with us!

    xo,
    RJ

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  13. What a beautiful summary of friendship. I agree that friends are recognised rather than made. I certainly feel that I share something special with the writers of blogs that I follow. That includes you, of course!
    Maureen

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  14. Love the quote, Dewena. If you like Faith Baldwin, are you also a fan of Gladys Taber or Kathleen Norris? They are some of my all time favorite authors.

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  15. Beautiful post, Dewena. Who would have thought that publishing a blog would make us feel so close to people across the world, most of whom we'll never meet. Beautiful quote; beautiful post; beautiful friendships. laurie

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  16. Lovely, thoughtful and beautiful post..a special one : )

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