There are two qualifying points to this entry, on which, I hope, we all agree.
1: Friendship, at least, true friendship is not determined by what you bring into a relationship. i.e. just because I am the richest, or best looking, that doesn’t mean that I have the most friends, or that you, in particular, are my friend.
2: Friendship, at least, true friendship, is not determined by what you are going to get out of a relationship. i.e. your friends don’t have to shower you with gifts or attention to keep your friendship. The ties that bind you together are deeper than some financial benefit or ephemeral flattery.
Yes, brothers and sisters, friendship is a complex thing. There are many things that bring people together & sometimes it is the indescribable things that keep people together. Yet sometimes people express their love for you in quantifyable ways.
Ok, I am beating around the bush here. Basically, I ate a fantastic meal at a swanky restaurant & I wanted to tell the story of it. Here we go…
Adam & I got on from pretty much the moment we met at SMBC. We shared a passion for many things, one of which was meat. Of course, almost every guy loves meat, but we REALLY love meat. My love stems from an almost carniverous diet, his from the opportunities he has had for fine dining in his corporate life.
So, Adam had been telling me throughout 2006 that he would take me to the most highly esteemed steak restaurant in Sydney “Kingsleys” at some point. Of course, in the day to day banter that goes on at college, I had no reason to think that this was a “set in stone” kind of promise, rather, it was a “I’d love to do this but… well… you know” kind of promise.
So, Adam is done with college. Adam is now married & back to work, but on Wednesday afternoon, Adam was out to lunch with yours truly.
One filet mignon with sauteed mushrooms, one Asahi lager, and one cab-sav later, I was a truly impressed & thoroughly sated individual.
Of course, afterwards, I considered the fact that the meal for 2 that we had could have bought TEN meals for two at “Jasmine’s” the Lebanese place that I love so much, in the “bad-lands” of Lakemba.
But then I realised that that was not the point. They were different meals and different experiences, and in the end, the financial side of it didn’t really factor. What was nice was that my mate, the one with a thousand other pressures on his new life, wanted to come good on something he had talked about, and wanted to be part of an excitiing experience with me.
The pleasure of the company & the excitement of uncharted territories (and steak actually cooked mid-rare) will be remembered long after the cost of lunch and a couple of drinks is forgotten!
Ok, if you are looking for more entertainment, following you will find a poem I like & a couple of pics from Camp by clicking on the link below.

I love the following C.S. Lewis poem. I am not entirely sure whether I have posted it before. I suspect that I may also post it again. Basically, it is a small statement from the Apostle Stephen to the disciple Lazarus. I love the vivid language, but most of all I appreciate the amazing way that Lewis has picked up on the sad side of Lazarus’ story. That this man, who presumably had the promise of heaven before him, was called back to life by his Lord & King.
Anyway, enjoy.
Stephen to Lazarus
But was I the first martyr, who
Gave up no more than life, while you,
Already free among the dead,
Your rags stripped off, your fetters shed,
Surrendered what all other men
Irrevocably keep, and when
Your battered ship at anchor lay
Seemingly safe in the dark bay
No ripple stirs, obediently
Put out a second time to sea
Well knowing that your death (in vain
Died once) must all be died again?
So, what did you think? I love it.
OK, the following two pictures are from camp. The first is of Luke & a camper (I’m not going to name campers for child safety reasons) who had just won a round of the soap suds sock wrestling championship.
The second picture is of some of the leaders finding the best way to free themselves of the aforementioned soap suds…