I started this blog as a place to post information about what happened to my friend Daniel and information about his memorial service. But, I also wanted this to be a place where people can post comments and their own memories about Daniel. I haven't been so good about posting my own so far. Mostly because it makes me cry, but also because I don't know where to start. Daniel was one of my very first friends, ever. We met when we were two when my parents moved into the house next door to his family. We were buddies from the start, and even as we got older, and my family moved away when we were 14, we always remained friends. We didn't see each other all the time, and as we got older we saw each other less frequently, but we were always friends. Daniel always came to every important event. Graduations, weddings, birthdays - I could always count on him to be there.
From the time we were little, Daniel was always a true friend. My parents used to always tell me, "Daniel is a true blue friend, " and they were right. He was as loyal as a friend could be. Sure, we tormented each other as kids, but we loved each other as only two kids who shared their childhood can. I don't even know where to start with sharing my memories of Daniel, there are too many to count. So, I'll just go with a few of the cutest, funniest favorites.
One of the most famous Daniel stories is from when we were pretty small, and my parents love telling this one. Around the time we were 3 and 4, Daniel would come over to my house to play, and if I made him mad, or didn't do what he wanted, he would threaten me with "I'm going home and I'm NEVER coming back!" This would throw me into a tizzy. "Don't go Daniel!" I would cry, as I barred the door with my 3-year old self. And he would march halfway across the yard, as I cried, then turn around and come back to play some more, and we were cool. One day, my mom said, "Daniel, if you're going home,then you go home and you don't come back until Annie invites you back." He started trudging across the yard, and halfway across, turned around to come back. "Nope Daniel," mom said, "you have to wait until Annie invites you back." He shuffled sorrowfully home and waited for me to come over (which I did about 5 minutes later). I think after that the threats ended, but we always laughed about it.
Today, I was walking my dogs through some woods near our house. I realized that aside from my parents, Daniel was who I learned to love the outdoors with. We played outside ALL the time as kids. We built forts in the woods, and told the "little kids" (our younger siblings) that they were coyote dens and they couldn't go near them or the coyotes would get them. We had so much fun climbing trees, building forts, and exploring. One of our favorite activities was "fishing" in a tiny stream near our houses. We would get sticks and tie string around them, and bait our "hooks" with cheese. Our fishing expeditions were not fruitful, but we had fun, as always.
Another of my favorite things about Daniel, and something else we both had in common, was our love of dogs. Between our two houses, there was always a minimum of at least 3 or 4 dogs. In addition to the dogs our families sought out to adopt, there were the strays that ended up becoming part of our families. Hobo wandered (actually slunk and hid) into our neighborhood one day, and after we eventually gained his trust, became an indispensable part of Sargent-Boek pack. We always had fun playing with the dogs, and they played various roles in our make-believe stories growing up. We both carried our love of animals into adulthood, and I always knew I had a kindred spirit in Daniel. Over the past few years, Daniel would always tell me about his handsome husky, Rio. We were both crazy about our pooches, and even if we had nothing else to talk about, we could always exchange dog stories.
Well, this is getting long, so I think this will be it for this post. But, with all the time we spent together, I've got many more stories. I'd love to hear others as well, if anyone else wants to post comments.
From the time we were little, Daniel was always a true friend. My parents used to always tell me, "Daniel is a true blue friend, " and they were right. He was as loyal as a friend could be. Sure, we tormented each other as kids, but we loved each other as only two kids who shared their childhood can. I don't even know where to start with sharing my memories of Daniel, there are too many to count. So, I'll just go with a few of the cutest, funniest favorites.
One of the most famous Daniel stories is from when we were pretty small, and my parents love telling this one. Around the time we were 3 and 4, Daniel would come over to my house to play, and if I made him mad, or didn't do what he wanted, he would threaten me with "I'm going home and I'm NEVER coming back!" This would throw me into a tizzy. "Don't go Daniel!" I would cry, as I barred the door with my 3-year old self. And he would march halfway across the yard, as I cried, then turn around and come back to play some more, and we were cool. One day, my mom said, "Daniel, if you're going home,then you go home and you don't come back until Annie invites you back." He started trudging across the yard, and halfway across, turned around to come back. "Nope Daniel," mom said, "you have to wait until Annie invites you back." He shuffled sorrowfully home and waited for me to come over (which I did about 5 minutes later). I think after that the threats ended, but we always laughed about it.
Today, I was walking my dogs through some woods near our house. I realized that aside from my parents, Daniel was who I learned to love the outdoors with. We played outside ALL the time as kids. We built forts in the woods, and told the "little kids" (our younger siblings) that they were coyote dens and they couldn't go near them or the coyotes would get them. We had so much fun climbing trees, building forts, and exploring. One of our favorite activities was "fishing" in a tiny stream near our houses. We would get sticks and tie string around them, and bait our "hooks" with cheese. Our fishing expeditions were not fruitful, but we had fun, as always.
Another of my favorite things about Daniel, and something else we both had in common, was our love of dogs. Between our two houses, there was always a minimum of at least 3 or 4 dogs. In addition to the dogs our families sought out to adopt, there were the strays that ended up becoming part of our families. Hobo wandered (actually slunk and hid) into our neighborhood one day, and after we eventually gained his trust, became an indispensable part of Sargent-Boek pack. We always had fun playing with the dogs, and they played various roles in our make-believe stories growing up. We both carried our love of animals into adulthood, and I always knew I had a kindred spirit in Daniel. Over the past few years, Daniel would always tell me about his handsome husky, Rio. We were both crazy about our pooches, and even if we had nothing else to talk about, we could always exchange dog stories.
Well, this is getting long, so I think this will be it for this post. But, with all the time we spent together, I've got many more stories. I'd love to hear others as well, if anyone else wants to post comments.
