{"id":647,"date":"2018-03-03T17:47:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-03T16:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=647"},"modified":"2024-02-06T19:37:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:37:50","slug":"my-buddy-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/","title":{"rendered":"My Buddy Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"
What is a Friend?<\/h6>\n

\"mark-t\"<\/a>My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it. Even years later. It\u2019s a simple test that proves itself. Try it. Finding an easy comfort with people isn\u2019t all that easy. And as we get older, for some reason it gets harder to make new friends. Often it seems that people have decided they don\u2019t need more acquaintances, or they\u2019re too busy, or life gets in the way. They will turn away from a potential new friendship rather than commit.<\/p>\n

In the cruising community shared experiences and understanding of the challenges, fears, and on-going will to survive, inculcates an instantaneous appreciation of your kindred vagabonds. And no matter who they are, they should be worthy of at least some attention. In other words, empathy, that essential ingredient in fostering friendship (because after all, being friends isn\u2019t about you, is it?) is here in spades.<\/p>\n

That goes for armchair, wannabe, aspirational, and recovering cruisers, too. I\u2019m lucky. Mark and I have been friends for years. He\u2019s a cruiser. But I\u2019ll be honest, I wasn\u2019t sure that he and Carol would get on. You see, Carol is a snowflake liberal and Mark is a crypto-fascist – at least they are online. I love them both. Thus, despite my assurances to Carol that what you read on Facebook isn\u2019t any more representative of someone than an ad in an online dating site, it wasn\u2019t clear that Mark and Carol would find common ground.<\/p>\n

What Me Worry?<\/h6>\n

I wasn\u2019t particularly worried. Not really. Besides, I\u2019ve always figured it\u2019s okay if my BFFs don\u2019t get along with each other, in part because it happens so rarely (but, we all find it a little baffling when our friends don\u2019t like each other, right?). Besides, Mark is married to Tammy \u2013 thank God! More importantly, Tammy is her own woman and continuously inspires Mark with all the cool stuff that she does, like saving turtles and diving in the giant tanks at the Boston Aquarium.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it was with a little nervousness that I introduced my wife to my buddy and then stood back to see what would happen. Pffff! What was I thinking? Take two, no three, or even four, generous people and put them in a room and they\u2019ll quickly find ways of solving the problems of the world. And honestly, we couldn\u2019t have gotten to the Bahamas if it weren\u2019t for Mark and Tammy\u2019s help. They\u2019ve taken in our mail, loaned us a car, helped refinish our table, babysat our old dinghy, and been supportive in ways that cruisers are with each other. In the end, Carol fell in love with the tall man with a bad back and a big heart.<\/p>\n

Sailing Rules<\/h6>\n

The unwritten rule of sailing is \u2018pay it forward.\u2019 It\u2019s a version of the golden rule (the one about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you). Accept help willingly and offer help generously. There\u2019s more than one global religion that\u2019s made a business out of that idea. Thanks to our long stay in Martin and St. Lucie counties, we have a large debt to pay forward. I\u2019m doing what I can. For example, during my recent trip back to the USA, I picked up a couple of hose connectors for a fellow cruiser with a bum water maker, and offered our spare starter motor to our next-door neighbor in Bimini (he declined: it was much too big for his small Yanmar).<\/p>\n

Things break in life. Friends are the glue that help keep things together. So love your friends unconditionally. And to paraphrase Garrison Keillor, nurture your friendships by \u2018being well, doing good work, and staying in touch.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is a Friend? My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it. Even years later. It\u2019s a simple test that proves itself. Try it. Finding an …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[615],"tags":[8,26,15,64,63,485,16,65],"class_list":["post-647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-memoir","tag-aleta","tag-aleta-life","tag-carol","tag-florida","tag-friends","tag-mark","tag-mike","tag-social-media"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Buddy Mark - The Adventures of Aleta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Buddy Mark - The Adventures of Aleta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Adventures of Aleta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-03T16:47:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-07T00:37:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mike\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\"},\"headline\":\"My Buddy Mark\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-03T16:47:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-07T00:37:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":657,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Aleta\",\"aleta.life\",\"Carol\",\"Florida\",\"Friends\",\"Mark\",\"Mike\",\"social media\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Memoir\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/\",\"name\":\"My Buddy Mark - The Adventures of Aleta\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-03T16:47:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-07T00:37:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1250,\"caption\":\"marilyn-and-groucho\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/03\\\/my-buddy-mark\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"My Buddy Mark\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Adventures of Aleta\",\"description\":\"She Called My Bluff - MMSI 367520170\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\",\"name\":\"Mike\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\",\"width\":412,\"height\":412,\"caption\":\"Mike\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/captainred\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"My Buddy Mark - The Adventures of Aleta","description":"My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My Buddy Mark - The Adventures of Aleta","og_description":"My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it.","og_url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/","og_site_name":"The Adventures of Aleta","article_published_time":"2018-03-03T16:47:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-07T00:37:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1250,"url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mike","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mike","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/"},"author":{"name":"Mike","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531"},"headline":"My Buddy Mark","datePublished":"2018-03-03T16:47:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-07T00:37:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/"},"wordCount":657,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1","keywords":["Aleta","aleta.life","Carol","Florida","Friends","Mark","Mike","social media"],"articleSection":["Memoir"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/","url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/","name":"My Buddy Mark - The Adventures of Aleta","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1","datePublished":"2018-03-03T16:47:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-07T00:37:50+00:00","description":"My dad\u2019s definition of a friend is someone with whom you can pick up a conversation wherever and whenever you left it.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1","width":2000,"height":1250,"caption":"marilyn-and-groucho"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/my-buddy-mark\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"My Buddy Mark"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#website","url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/","name":"The Adventures of Aleta","description":"She Called My Bluff - MMSI 367520170","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531","name":"Mike","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1","width":412,"height":412,"caption":"Mike"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/aleta.life"],"url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/author\/captainred\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/marilyn-and-groucho.jpg?fit=2000%2C1250&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9zLjA-ar","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16178,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions\/16178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}