I Am Proud

I am proud to have lived a long and varied life… proud to have found joy in most every day… and extremely proud at the diversity of friends I’ve made along the way. I am proud to have friends I’ve known since childhood…others I’ve only met recently… I am proud to have friends my age…or older…and friends much younger than me. I am proud to have friends who are allergic to animals… friends who refuse to fly on jets… I am proud to have friends who travel the world… and others who surround themselves with pets. I am proud to have friends I’ve met through work…and others I’ve met by chance…. I am proud to have friends who love to sing and others who love to dance. I am proud to have friends who eat at the finest restaurants… and friends who are barflies… I am proud to have friends who never touch a drink and others whose favorite meal is a cheeseburger and fries. I am proud to have friends who love the beach… who often wish the temperature was hotter. I am proud to have friends who love the cold and others who won’t go near the water. I am proud to have friends who love ice cream…and others who only eat cake… I am proud to have friends who are afraid of animals… and others who love spiders, and bugs and snakes. I am proud to call these people my friend…proud that in my life they play a part… proud they have allowed me as a friend…to see inside their hearts. So anyone who attempts to humiliate or ridicule any of my friends… out of sheer prejudice or political design…. Then I am equally proud to stand up and say… you are no friend of mine.