Thank You for Being a Friend

Kayaking/Canoeing
Written By Marc O'Brien

Hamlin Lake (MI)

 

Whoa! I just had a slammed packed trip to Michigan. It seemed like every minute was filled with something to do, places to go, people to meet. I facilitated a workshop for Global Detroit, sat in on an art foundation class during the first crit, gave a talk about confidence to students and faculty at UM Flint, road-tripped across the state to Lake Michigan, and canoed to a beach to camp on sand dunes with my buddy Ben.

When Ben and I get together, we talk. Like most of my closest friends, we talk about the most random stuff and the most relevant stuff, and everything in between; music, design, movies, girls, family, politics, pop culture, this country, other countries, health, fears, dreams… stuff. One of the best takeaways from this trip was a little conversation Ben and I had while paddling in Lake Hamlin.

The theme song to The Golden Girls popped up during a chat we were having about how much I would love to bring all of my friends together (east coast, west coast, and around the world) to then meet one another and become friends themselves. If I had one wish in the whole wide world, I’d make this happen. Before I continue and get all verklempt on you, I’ll stop here and just let the beautiful words of Andrew Gold (the writer of the Golden Girls theme song) take it away.

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant

I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow

And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say

Thank you for being a friend

If it’s a car you lack
I’d surely buy you a Cadillac
Whatever you need any time of the day or night

I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow

And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear even though it’s hard to hear
I will stand real close and say

Thank you for being a friend

And when we die
And float away
Into the night
The milky way
You’ll hear me call
As we ascend
I’ll say your name
Then once again

Thank you for being a friend

 
Marc O'Brien
As a Design Strategist and Creative Facilitator, I focus on social innovation, human-centered design, and purpose-driven initiatives that create positive change in the world. I love finding ways for organizations to make a huge impact in unexpected places. Working with others who are working towards creating positive change, I use design as my tool to help them do this in a better way. In a playful workshop environment, I help Fortune 500 companies to startups, non-profits to universities, come up with fun, achievable, and innovative solutions to challenges. My prefer method is making. With a background in both web and graphic design, I bring ideas to life so others can see what’s possible.
marcobrien.net
Previous

Fungi, Waterships, Fuel Cells, and the Descendents
Next

On Remembering My First Love