WJBC Forum: As time goes by

Posted on February 5, 2015

By Michael J. Whelan

No, I’m not referring to the great song from the classic Humphrey Bogart/Ingrid Bergman movie “Casablanca."

Instead, I’m referring to the fact that this coming Saturday, February 7th, marks the forty-five year anniversary of the wedding of two of my dearest and closest friends, Denny and Janet Whitworth. I know this because they honored me by allowing me to be the best man in their wedding, which was the first time, but not the last, that I served in that role for my other equally dear and close friends, Mike and Barb Thoennes and Dan and Vicki Conley.

A couple of years ago Mike and Barb’s son Eric asked his Dad how long he and I had known each other, and when Mike told Eric it was more than fifty years, Eric was stunned. I guess he couldn’t fathom any two people staying close that many years.

I’ve also known and been close with Denny and Janet and Dan and his late wife Vicki about the same length of time, and my friendship with another close friend Terry Tay, is at least this long.

I bring all of this up because in this day and age of disposable everything, it troubles me that forty-five or fifty years from now, there may very well be no one around who can make a similar claim, which would be truly sad.

So let me conclude by saying the best friends we all can have are the oldest ones, and we need to keep them close.

Happy 45th anniversary Denny and Janet, and here’s to many, many more.

Michael J. Whelan has been a licensed practicing attorney for over 33 years. He also serves as an arbitrator in the 11th Judicial Circuit Mandatory Arbitration program. In addition, he is presently the president of the board of directors of his homeowners association, and is also a member of the board of directors of The Old House Society. He and his wife of thirty-one plus years, Cheryl Whelan, live in Bloomington. He and Cheryl enjoy exercising, reading, and being close to family and friends.

The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media, Inc.

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