Stand by Me is one of my all-time favourite movies. I can recall countless nights growing up watching it with my dad, who introduced me to it.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the flick, it follows a group of boys who go in search of a dead body, and after discovering it, find that nothing seems the same, and the journey has changed them forever.
One of the quintessential moments of the movie is a scene near the film's end. The narrator, who it turns out is actually one of the boys recalling the journey, says the phrase 鈥淚 never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve鈥�.
That one sentence has stuck with me, and I now find myself thinking the same thing.
I have two best friends, both of whom I met when I was 12, and I鈥檝e never met anyone who could come close to matching the impact they have had in my life.
I met the first of my best friends shortly after turning 12. I was starting at a new middle school, and found myself dreading the bus ride, which would inevitably be spent alone.
I decided that I would seek out someone else sitting alone, and do my best to befriend them; looking for someone I thought looked 鈥榗ool鈥�.听I sat down in an empty seat next to a young man named Cody Both, and although unbeknownst to the two of us, our lives would become intertwined for life.
Cody has always had a big personality, even to this day. He was the smooth talker, and the troublemaker, which of course made the ladies love him. But aside from the smooth talk, Cody had a side that few others got to see. He has always been smart, maybe not in the traditional book sense, but he can talk his way out of any situation and that is an example of street smarts if I鈥檝e ever seen one. And he鈥檚 always been kind, loyal and grateful, which are qualities that few men possess today, and none in quantities like Cody.
A few weeks later I met my other best friend.听Lyren Nadeau was a grade below Cody and me, which meant that we were the cool kids and he would have to impress us to be welcomed into the group. Lyren was a quiet young man, much quieter and far smarter than Cody or myself, a fact that remains true to this day.
Lyren has always been the thinker of the group, the one who weighed options and considered outcomes, whereas Cody and I loved making impulsive decisions regardless of their outcome.
Lyren has also always been the most conflicted of the group. He has struggled over the years with both anger and depression, a battle that many of us face in our lives, but I鈥檝e never met anyone as resilient, as determined, or more worthy of happiness and success.
I think it has always been our differences that have made Cody, Lyren and I such a perfect group. Where one of us has shortcomings, the others make up for it, and vice versa. We often referred to ourselves growing up as one-third each of a whole idiot.
Cody now has a child of his own, Noah, who he has devoted his life to providing for. Lyren is now in post-secondary schooling, and pursuing his dream of becoming an addiction and support counsellor.听I would love to travel back in time and talk to our 13-year-old selves, to tell them about the journeys they had ahead, and the importance of the bond the three of us have shared for so many years.
I don鈥檛 think I would have had nearly as good of a life if it weren鈥檛 for my two best friends. The one constant unwavering fact in my life has always been the support and love that I know the three of us share.
I want to use this column as a way of conveying my love for these two amazing people, and thank them for everything they鈥檝e done for me in the 10 years that I鈥檝e had the pleasure of knowing them.
My older sister, Kyla Bateman, is getting married to the love of her life; Eric Seeley, this weekend, and both Cody and Lyren will be attending, as over the years Kyla has adopted them both as additional baby brothers.听It will be the first time in a few months that me, Cody and Lyren will have the opportunity to see each other, and I couldn鈥檛 be more excited. I know when we all meet up it will be as if nothing has changed, and we鈥檙e just the same goofy young men that met on the bus so many years ago. (Also congratulations to my sister, I love you too, I suppose.)
So here鈥檚 to the friends that I made when I was 12. I owe you both everything, I love you both like brothers, and I am so proud of both of you for the amazing men you have become, you both deserve nothing but happiness in this world.
听
I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12, but I鈥檝e been blessed with the fact that my best friends when I was 12 and my best friends at 22 are one in the same.听
