From the Tiger Beat Archives, April 1972
By the time you read this, David will probably have been to Europe and back! He’s so excited he can’t stand still, and every minute he thinks of something else he should take with him, even though he doesn’t have to pack for quite a while yet! There’s now this huge pile of stuff in the center of his room, and when I pointed out that there is no suitcase in the world that could hold it all, he said he was just going to put a handle on the room itself!
Of course, knowing David, he won’t get around to actually packing anything until the night before he leaves—and then he’ll be up all night! Oh, well, there’s one good thing that’s come out of it… since David had to find things he wanted to take with him, he had to go through the dreaded boxes which have been standing all over the house ever since we moved in! As a result, we’ve got almost half the stuff out of the cartons and put away. Now all we have to do is remember where we put it!
SCHEDULES CONFLICTED
Originally, I was going to go with him, and I was as excited as he was! I had visions of castles in Spain and the fountains of Rome, and Swedish girls—but it didn’t work out! David could only go at a certain time, and that was just when I couldn’t! I had too many jobs, interviews, and other plans to change them all—so I’m going to be the little piggy that stayed home. I guess “piggy” wasn’t such a good choice of words!
Anyway, knowing that David is going to be gone for a while has gotten me into thinking about how much I’ll miss him. It’s funny, but you never really know how good a friend someone is until you know he’s not going to be around!
Of course, David and I have been friends for a long time, ever since high school. I’ve known him for so long, in fact, that I’m afraid I sometimes take him for granted!
MATTER OF VIBES
Have you ever thought about what a strange thing it is to make a friend? With all the people there are in the world, two of them will happen to be in the same place at the same time, and something just happens—they decide that this is the person they’d like to spend time with! How does it come out that way? What are the reasons? Well, as it happens, David’s trip has started me thinking about all that, so I’m going to try to answer those questions—at least, answer them for David and me.
When we first met, I think it was mostly a matter of vibes. We just sort of basically knew that we liked each other, and something in both of us said, “Hey, I’d like to know him better!” I think this is the first stage of most friendships. From that point, they can go anywhere
GREAT HUMOR
The first thing I really noticed about David was his sense of humor. He’s really funny! He has this way of never quite taking himself seriously, and he can be talking on and on about something he cares deeply about (like ecology), and all of a sudden he’ll realize he sounds like a professor, or a politician, or something, and this sly grin comes over his face, and then gradually he’ll begin to talk nonsense! If you’re only half listening, it’s impossible to tell where it began, but you suddenly discover he’s gone somewhere that’s just insane!
After we got to know each other better, we began to respect one another. We each felt that the other was basically a pretty good person, which isn’t always the easiest thing to be! Also, we’re both truth-tellers, and that’s totally important in a friendship, especially now that David’s a star. There are a lot of people who only want to know what David wants to hear, so they can be the first to tell him—no matter how they really feel! David knows that I’ll always tell him the truth as I see it, whether it’s good news as far as he’s concerned or not!
MOVED IN TOGETHER
After David went to New York, I sort of messed around for a while, but I never met another friend I felt as close to as I did to David. When he called me to ask if I wanted to room with him, I was really happy! We moved in together, and I think that’s when the deepest part of our friendship began.
To be really close friends with someone, there have to be a few things you can depend on. First, you’ve got to know that your friend will stand by you, even when you’re wrong! I’ve made more than my share of dumb mistakes, and it’s always a reassurance to know that I could turn to David if I needed help, or even just a sympathetic ear! When I’m through telling my woes, he may grin and say, “That was really stupid, Sam,” but he’ll do whatever he can to help anyway!
NEVER PASS JUDGEMENT
Another thing that keeps David and me close is that we never judge one another! David doesn’t believe that any human being has the right to pass judgment on any other, and that’s carried right into our friendship. It’s important to know that there’s nothing you can’t tell your friend, nothing you can’t get off your chest, without having to worry about feeling ashamed or being ridiculed. David and I can sit up all night talking and never once have to think, “Can I tell him about this? Will he stop liking me?” With David, I always know that I can let it all hang out! He may say that he wouldn’t have done the same thing, but he never acts scornful or laughs at me in a way that would hurt!
And, of course, there are all the usual things: we like the same things—music, books, people, movies, photography—and we get along with the same people. We never have to worry whether or not our new friends will get along with our old friends!
LIKE TO GIVE
But most important of all, I think, is that we’re both willing to give. It takes time to be a good friend, you know. You have to be willing to drop what you’re doing if your friend needs help, or even if he just wants to get out of the house and drive around for a while! You have to be willing to give emotional strength in times of trouble, to exert efforts to make sure that you always bring your friend up, not down
David once said that a person has two choices in life: he can bring people up or he can bring them down. He’s chosen to bring people up—his fans, his co-workers, his family, his friends. No matter how tired he is, he’ll always make that extra effort to try to make them feel a little better.
And that makes him pretty special. That makes him my friend
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