When The Rubber Hits The Road...

Our paths cross lots of friendly people. Many of them we would even call friends. Some of them will go so far as to tell you to call them if you need anything. Few, though, really live that out When The Rubber Hits The Road.

True friends shine when life is in its dark moments. The ones who really are there for you when you're not fun to be with. Sometimes they talk. Sometimes they just listen. It's not by their words that they show you they care; their caring shows through their life. Even though the course of our lives may cause us to drift apart; the moments of caring are never far from our memory.

There are two people in particular who I think of when I think about people who really cared when it mattered. Nearly three decades have passed, but their acts of kindness still remind me of how a true friend shows they care.

To set the scene briefly, I was doing freelance video production work. The work could be somewhat irregular, but I was always glad to have a day scheduled. One job that I will never forget was the Camtronics shoot. I had two days of work scheduled; which meant two days of pay. It promised to be a fun shoot; which meant lots of setups and some challenging shooting situations. 

Two days before the shoot, I came home from work to find much of my apartment cleaned out, my cat gone and only a note from Sally saying, "I'm sorry," left behind. She had left me and filed for divorce. I was crushed. I told no one other than Sally's parents who loaned me a car since we only had one which she had taken with her.

I showed up at Camtronics for the shoot even though I was in no condition to work. Ralph, the Director, and Colleen, the Producer, (who later fell in love and got married, but that's a different story entirely) noticed my demeanor. Ralph took me aside and asked what was going on. I poured out my heart to him. He told me I didn't have to work if I would rather not be there. I told him that I needed to work.

They let me stay. 

I was absolutely worthless on that shoot. I'm sure I cost the crew much time and many retakes because of my distracted state.

But they let me stay.

Ralph and Colleen told me I could talk if I wanted to talk or just be quiet if I wanted to be quiet. They didn't pry and they didn't coddle me. They were just there When The Rubber Hit The Road.

When I look back over the decades, I am reminded that the friends who really care for you aren't the ones who tell you to call if you need anything. True friends are the ones who let you stay When The Rubber Hist The Road...