"Friends" in our lives

From Great North Road

"Friends" in our lives. What does that mean to any of us?

I have been thinking about the GNR a lot over the past week and what it has come to mean to me. Friends used to be those whom you spend a lot of personal time with, open your heart to and trust with the fabric of your life. People who influence you and have a part in making you the person that you are now. I think with the age of technology, that definition has changed somewhat, although the place of friends in our life has not. I know for me, through the GNR, I have rediscovered friendship in a way I did not think possible. I think of the friends in my life as sparkling jewels in a treasure box. I appreciate both those in the category I can see and touch, but just as importantly, those that I can now feel in my heart.

The "long time ago friends" I had grown to love and who had been such an important part of my life at one stage. Friends who stood beside me during struggles in my life and whom have come alongside me again at times over the past year. Friends I laughed with, cried with, partied and enjoyed life with. Friends who were directly or indirectly a part of the fabric of my life in Zambia. Friends I thought I would never find again, and would not have, if I had not discovered the treasure box of the GNR.

Then, "new friends" discovered through the GNR. Precious friends yet to be met and yet already familiar and important parts of my life. Friends who have given of themselves, friends I have laughed with and cried with through the written word. Friends who, although far in distance from me, have reached out and come alongside me when I've needed it.

This is a tribute to the GNR and to my friends, old and new. If I have, unwittingly, left a name off of someone who considers themselves a part of what I write, I apologize for the memory lapses that occur when you share your bren with someone like Beauteous. If you fall in any category I mention, know that I consider you a friend.

"I see you, GNR."

It started with one person, filled with a love for his country, a dream, and a shiny key in his hand.

"I see you, Dawie".

I took that key he offered, and opened up the treasure box called the GNR. Shining inside the box, were jewels from my youth, and my past.

"I see you, old friends"

Jill Aplin, Karin Hansen, Moira Fenwick, Jackie Gibbs, Hilary Abrams, Blackie Hall, Mad Maggie May, Ian Coetzee, Johnny Stavrou, Basil O'Connell Jones, Howie Silk, Moira Steevens, Wendy Vercueil, Rose and Russell Boosey, Miles & Sue Parton, Pierre & Diana Fabel, Gordon & June Garlick, John Dorrington, Chris & Hazel Forde, Colin & Jan McGregor, Grant & Heather Knowles, Karl Claussen & Sheila van Heerden, Lynda Kenny ... to name a few.

I dug deeper in the box and discovered more treasure:

"I see you, new friends"

Dawie Cooper, David Housden, Craig Hartnett, Arthur Steevens, Fiona Gayther, Elias Georgopollous, Speedy Morris, Charlie Cartmill, Annie Small, Judy Drew, Ken Miller, Bwana Grins, Doug Grewar, Jacqui Milward, Tina Magee, Gary Brassington, Chris Swart, Des Kenny, Bill Knott, Jimmy Churchill, Heather Chalcraft, Kevin Shone, Barry Woodrow, Lighty Samaras, Gill Main, George Maxwell, Mark Powell, Wilma Wall, John Tyne, Sue Watson, Sue Forde, Bob Smith, Ron Clibborn-Dyer... to name a few.

There have been times when I, just like you, have wondered if this GNR is important enough in my life to stay connected to it and to you. My answer lies in something my son, Craig, said to me. Craig was given up for adoption by me when I was 16 and, much like many boxes in our lives, the lid was closed and the key taken away in a situation I had no control over. But he searched until he found me, 30 years later, on October 16, 1999. After the initial shock, I asked him, "What next?" His answer is the same I pose to you.

"If a man searches for treasure all his life and strikes gold, does he put up his shovel and go home?"

"I see you GNR, and I see you, Friends"

Contributed by Linda Hayes.

24th October 2001