My Most Expensive Friend

One of my best friends from high school, Mike, just arrived in Denver last night from Chicago. He's one of those friends that I know will be my friend through thick and thin. We've been through a lot together, both good times and bad times, but he never fails to bring a smile to my face. I talk to him about boys and get a man's advice. He asks me for advice on girls and dating and other topics. It seems whenever we're together, however, disaster always strikes.

Our first disaster happened on New Year's Eve years and years ago. Bill (another good friend), Mike, another friend and I took a road trip to Denver (when we were all living in NE) for a ski weekend. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house in Thornton. On New Year's Eve, we headed up to Copper mountain for a day of fun before heading downtown to celebrate the New Year. On our very first run of the day, Mike and I ran in to each other. He was snowboarding, I was skiing and WHAM, my head hit his shoulder and it knocked me out cold. My brother-in-law was also skiing with us that day, so he took off down the mountain to get help. When I finally came to, I didn't really know where I was or what time it was. I was taken down the mountain by ski patrol and ended up with a concussion. No one really cared about Mike by that time, but he injured his shoulder. We spent the rest of the day in the hospital lodge while everyone else was out skiing.

Our second disaster also happened on the ski slope several years later. Again, we ran in to each other and I fell, hurting my wrist. I didn't think much of it until months and months later when a large bump started to appear on my wrist. After seeing a specialist, I was diagnosed was a large cell bone tumor (benign). The doctor said I had probably fractured my wrist when I fell skiing and it developed into a tumor. After a very serious surgery to remove the tumor, I was in a full arm cast for four months and then had to wear a brace for six months. I spent the next two years getting a scan done every three months to make sure the tumor didn't return.

The last major disaster happened years ago when I was still living in Kearney. I was moving from one house to another and Mike offered his pick-up truck to help. He and I loaded a mattress in the back of the truck but didn't tie it down. We were only going a mile, so we figured it would be fine. As we were going over the overpass, the mattress flew out of the back, hitting the van behind us and shattering her windshield. We ended up paying cash for a new windshield for this lady.

My dad says Mike is the most expensive friend I've ever had.

As for me, I think he's a keeper. He's in Denver for the next three weeks, so I'm excited to spend some time with him and catch up.