It is said that true friends can be counted on one hand. For men that number may well be fewer. I believe that is true, at least in my case. City guys like myself put on an armor of toughness so familiar to troubled streets. My security:

       Never let anyone too near as it may expose a weakness

       Act way beyond your years

       Keep your softness in some hidden closet.

 The system most certainly put off friendships.

 I answered the knock at the door. My eyes greeted a tee shirt. The person standing there was way over six feet tall. "Hello there. I'm Tom." "Oh yes, I was expecting you. Come in." In a very natural way this giant of a man bent his frame and entered. "Your directions were great, interesting place you got here." "Well, your room is over there, first one. Just make yourself at home. Anything I might do for you before I leave. I'm off to the beach. The wind is up and a swell arrived yesterday." "Yeah. I saw the waves on my way over here from the airport." "Where do you go?" "Me, I go to Sprecks mostly." "All my gear is on my car outside, Could I follow you there?" "Alright let's go." Later that night Tom arrived with some groceries and beer. Andrea, Christian, Hannes and I were outside grilling some steaks, drinking our beers and talking windsurfing. Tom joined us with a beer in his hand and a smile on his face. I introduced him to the others. He picked up on their German accents and easily fell into comfortable German dialog. "Wow, that was a great day", he said to me. "I got some stuff to throw on the grill, I'll get it." "Man, it's fine, there is plenty." "Tomorrow will be epic, twenty foot sets are in the works."
Tom became a rather frequent guest. We got to know a lot more of each other. He was a merchant seaman, in fact a captain of a container ship. He bought a house several months later just around the corner from mine. I helped him out with some renovation projects and introduced him around the neighborhood. We shared sailor stories, as I had been in the Navy. There was a bit of commonality between us. We hung out together at the beach and each others' homes. About four years later, Tom moved to Oahu where he had secured another job. On occasion I would go over there and would stay at his place. It was on one of those inter-island trips that he invited me to go sailing with him. I had only been a passenger aboard a couple of other sailboats. Tom was an excellent sailor. As we headed towards Diamond Head is let me take the tiller. With a little guidance from him I was getting the feel of it. There is no other quite like it. The awesome power of the wind, the spray of the salt water, spectacular view, no motor noises to shout above...I was loving it. Tom handed me a beer as he took over and we sailed towards sunset and  back to Ke'ehi Lagoon.
That one day set my course to my next adventure. I bought a thirty foot boat of my own and Tom and I would share many more such times. He is a person who I count on that one hand, a true friend.