I once heard modern Christianity described as "mile-wide, inch-deep." Lately, I've thought this of my friendships. I know many friends (not just in the Quaker sense) but that with many of them, too many, I think, I have yet to get past the "polite point"-- the point where you go on a lot of assumptions, where you love eachother's clothes but your still not certain you have her husband's name right. If unchallenged, I think my whole life could go on this way. I could be content to make countless superficial acquaintence-ships. I'm pretty good at this. But when I see Zady Hasse, pictured here with my girl Clara, I stop in my tracks and am forced to remember with a strange mix of tremendous joy and also guilty regret my own best friends. Geoff continues to urge me to get back in touch with my first soul mate, Joyce. Getting back in touch with her has given me renewed belief in the girl scout song "Make new friends but keep the old. . . " Not only is Schmenky pure gold but it takes no time at all to connect, to understand to be understood. Just hearing her voice again has had a restorative effect on my faith in mankind. No one makes my abs hurt from laughing like she does. From ages 7 to 16, we were inseparable. I actually began to take on Italianate features and my relatives were convinced she had Filipino blood. So, what I want for Clara Margot in the end is this kind of friendship, to be known so well, to grow with someone. To have a Jonathan/David, Sookie/Lorelei, Laverne/Shirley kind of palship.