My Friend Johnny

The highlight of my weekend, even more so than a great game of poker and Canada's surprise win for Dumbest Government of the Year at the World Stupidity Awards, was spending a little time with an old friend of mine up at a cabin just north of Brainerd, on the aptly if oddly named Lake Ossawinnamakee.

In order to violate his privacy (think of it as payback), we'll call him Johnny Lindahl. I wish all of you could be fortunate enough to have him as a friend, but in a way I think we all do. He's the guy who makes any group of people, no matter how disparate or randomly thrown together, feel comfortable with each other. It's impossible to stop laughing while he's talking; everything he says is funny simply because he says it. He's both likeable and caustic, genuine and animated, perverse and innocent. If you don't know a guy like this, you probably can't begin to imagine how this jumble of paradoxes manifests itself in a single, fun-filled package. So again, I hope you do.

The thing about Johnny is, you wonder if he's ever serious. You wonder if there's another side to him. He's definitely intelligent, but he doesn't seem to need to be. He's gotten himself into trouble in the past, nothing serious, but still. You worry a little because he doesn't seem to embrace responsiblity. He lives up in his parents' cabin all year. Does he have good friends? Does he go to church? Does he shower?

But Johnny is Johnny, and it's hard to worry too much because he's so fun to be with, and also because he has so much fun being with you. When you're with him you feel like you're the reason that he's having so much fun. It's a good feeling.

If you have that friend, and you do wonder from time to time, maybe it's worth sharing the details of our weekend with you. We should have gone up to see Johnny sooner, and we will again very soon, because we had a perfect weekend. The weather was awesome and the grilled chicken tasted fantastic. Johnny had to work in the afternoons, but it was cool to just lay around on the boat or kick back and read. And in the time we had to catch up, we caught up.

As funny and fun as ever, Johnny shared with us what he'd learned from trying to be an electrician. On how he'd come to understand his A.D.D. and what it meant to his work life. How he couldn't deal with a boss telling him how to do what he already knew how to do, or the pressure of someone's life conceivably depending on his not neglecting the smallest detail of the job. How in the year he's been working at the convenience store down the road he's become its heart and soul and made everyone there like their job for the first time. How if he forgets to make the coffee in the morning, it's no big deal. How his buddy's dad is working on getting the money together to buy the store and put it in his hands, and how he's eager for the challenge.

The cabin is the right place for him. The lake, his dog, his boat, Law & Order, it's all he needs. Except maybe a few friends to come up and visit more often. And really, how could they not want to, every chance they get?

So at the risk of causing your monitor to ooze actual sap, let me just say this: I hung out with your buddy Johnny this weekend, and he's doing great. You should give him a call.