MOYNSIE #1

It is difficult to write about my best friend and keep it within reasonable limits. There is still a strong link to him and most men are reluctant to speak of another with an admission of love. But love him I did and one of the things my heart holds dear is the hope that I will meet him in the next phase and I will begin laughing again. At 5:30 in the morning, no one was funnier and as the day progressed most people had better stay out of his way because he had a high degree of cynicism that would not stay hidden. In short , if he found any sense of phonyism in your make up, he had no use for you and it was seldom if ever covered up. Back in the days when we were all getting started with our families, our jobs, our finances, there were 6 couples in our "group". And over the years, one by one Moynsie would come to me and say, "Well, I have just alienated Lightheart's", or one of the other couples. He had a hidden need to "Hunt and Destroy" and it all came to an end one night at about 11:00 p.m when Louise and I were in bed and I heard a car pull up and a couple of doors slam. Yes, it was the Moynihans and his opening remark was, "Well, I just alienated the Klutes". I, in my philosophical simplicity replied, "And now you have a circle of friend (singular)". Rather than feel badly about the fact he had lost the last friend of our group, he thought my simplistic reply was very funny and it was as though I had successfully summed up his journey through life. There is not enough room to fully describe his personality. Suffice it to say, I forgave him everything and anything because should I have a need he was first one to say, "What can I do?" It all began when shortly after the war, we met at a bus stop near the University of Buffalo and although we had never been close in high school we knew each other and made a date to play bridge that week-end. It ended many years later when I, in Japan on business, leaned against the wall and cried hearing of his death. He was a Roman Candle that was so full of energy he couldn't maintain the burst over the long haul and I loved him for all of his idiosyncrasies, his craziness and his huge trips into humor. The funny thing is that for all of the above, I was the only one that fulfilled his expectations of the one person that could keep up with him---not that I had all the answers but I had enough to keep him laughing at my ability to reply in a manner that delighted him. I was the last of his "circle of friend". Can one man love another? I can only speak for myself. He was my friend and I loved him. More to follow. ------