As far as I know, my dad and Ed Charbonneau had been friends forever. We took every family vacation with the Charbonneaus for as long as I can remember.Ed was married to Susie, and they had three children, Eddie, Denise, and Renee.
Ed was a paramedic with the St. Paul fire department, and I think that my dad was happy to come home and spend time with a real person when he spent so much time traveling, away from the home he knew and loved.
My dad and Ed would stay up late on the weekend nights, arguing about some theoretical concept neither one of them believed in. My dad said, "You'll never be able to make a good argument unless you can argue both sides of it, no matter which side you are really on."
Dad and Ed went golfing on the weekends. Before they left they would mix up a "pitcher of Manhattans" to put in an insulated drink cooler so they could have cocktails all afternoon. While they drank and golfed, we got to tear around the golf course with the the carts.
My dad was especially fond of Ed's son Eddie. He always asked Eddie about how his drawing was coming along, and dad was convinced that someday Eddie would be making lots of money drawing commercially.
I think my dad thought of Eddie as a son, and he made sure to encourage Eddie the same way he encouraged my sister and I.
My dad loved Ed, and
I don't think there was another person in the world who knew my dad better.
I know that my dad always felt lucky to still be best friends with his
high school sidekick.