I want to tell you about a man I knew. He was a very unassuming and humble person. Always had a joke to tell and a shoulder to lean on. I knew him my entire life and learned many, many things from him. His honor was greater than the combination of all persons I have even known. He was my best friend. Five years ago today he died.

To give you some sense of this man....... I was living with a submissive and we had just moved into a new home. The playroom was set up in the basement and the door was always locked. Every time he visited he asked about the *mysterious* door. Finally during one visit I decided to spill the beans on this side of me. I took him downstairs. I lit all the candles and turned the lights on low. His eyes grew wide at the sight in front of him. The instruments hanging from the walls. The equipment positioned throughout the room. As he walked around he asked what each thing was for and I told him. He never judged me, nor did he ever show the disgust I expected. He just accepted.

After spending a long time explaining what it is I do, we went back upstairs. My submissive was 18 colors of red. She was trying very hard not to show her need for this mans approval. He walked over to her........ a crooked smile broke across his lips and he hugged her. As they embraced he spoke these words into her ear. "I am glad to see there is a first aid kit hanging on the wall". Needless to say this broke the tension and the subject was never brought up again. He just accepted this was the way we chose to live.

This man and I spend many hours together. Sometimes serious, sometimes not. He taught me to be unassuming. He taught me not to worry about what others thought of me. He taught me that this is the life I am living now.....make the best of it. He taught me that being happy with yourself is the only thing that mattered. That thru this happiness others will find the happiness they seek also.

When this man began to falter it broke my heart. The once vital man became a shell of his former self. But, he never lost his dignity. On the day he died, I was sitting in a chair beside his hospital bed holding his hand. Although his strength was low, he wanted to talk. We talked about all the things we had done together. We talked about all the jokes we had played on people. We talked about the things we thought we important in life. But, mainly we remembered.

After a while he began to tire. His eyes became distant. I asked him if he wanted to be alone. He nodded his head and softly said "yes". A small tear rolled out of his eye. I squeezed his hand and told him I loved him. As I walked out the door I hear him take his last breath.

As I drove from the hospital that day I remembered something he had said to me. The memory shook me so badly I had to stop the car and cry. When his wife of 36 years was buried we hugged and cried at the graveside. With tears streaming down his cheeks he placed his hands on my shoulders, looked me square in the eye and said "My friend, thank you for being my Son"............

My Friend......thank you for being my Father. I am so glad I knew this man. I am so glad he was my best friend. I am so glad I can sit here today and know there is nothing I should have said to him and didn't.