Summer Nights and True Ties: Celebrating the Unbreakable Bonds

When did you grow up?

For me it was the 70’s ending in 1980. To this day I can tell you the places we went to, the people I hung out with, and the endless amount of time I thought I had, just as if it was now. Time was currency that I thought I would never run out of. I was lucky because my friends then were the best people I would ever meet. The girls were beautiful, smart, and strong. They knew where they were going and how to get there. The guys…well they were all knuckheads but despite that, like those young women, the guys also were driven in their own way. All of them are accomplished and would still do anything for you needed. What stands out for me can only be described as a True Relationship. It is a bond that remains unbroken.

Webster’s dictionary offers multiple definitions for ‘True’—nine as adjectives, two as adverbs, two as nouns, and one as a verb. It lists three for ‘Relationship’. But how would I define a True Relationship?

Summertime Memories

I remember going to the the Gemini Theater on Central Expressway. It was usually on a Monday night in the summer because you could go for a dollar. To get the requisite funding I went to my parents kitchen pantry to find and return the coke bottles to Safeway for the deposit money so I could hopefully woo a particular girl. Then the drive around our stomping grounds to pick up as many friends as we could fit in the Lesabre. Up Campbell, on to Melrose, and then finally down Coit. As we got to the Gemini the tail lights seemed endless. Everyone looked to be there. It smelled of popcorn and oil. The ethereal sounds of laughter and talking at dusk floated above me. Later as you walked by various cars to go get a Coke with crushed ice at the concessions stand the sight of steamed windows and the sounds of Paradise By the Dashboard Light playing on the radio looked and sounded like waves breaking forever into the nights darkening. Those days, those places, those times were the beginning of my True Relationships.

Years Fly By, Decades Pass in a Blink

It doesn’t feel nearly as distant as it actually is. The memories are as vivid and lively as ever. What we all crave are robust, lasting connections built on the bedrock of our True Relationships from our past. For me, those were the hallmarks of True Relationships forged back then.

I loved the movie Jerry Maguire for many reasons. I won’t take up to much space here with old movie references, because I could go on forever about that movie, but there is one line that resonates with me. It is: “We live in a cynical world, a cynical world, and we work in a business of tough competitors.” To those of you expecting me to say: “I love you. You — complete me.” Well that’s not happening and that is a bit much for a blog post from a roofing company :). However, it is true that business is challenging and often not guided by idealism. What has always stood the test of time is a True Relationship. Who do you really trust? Who do you really want to be connected to over time? We want you to know we got you. We want you to know that when storms come. We want you to know that when the dead of night finds you needing someone to listen and be there when you call, Royal Roofing is that company. We want you to understand that the duration of a True Relationship isn’t dictated by a set passage of time, regardless of how long ago it began. One last thing… Call that person that for whatever reason you disconnected with.

If you get a chance share your summer story? Who did you forge unbreakable bonds during balmy summer nights?

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