Christopher's Friends Page!

PAGE INITIATED: JULY 11, 2000.

LAST UPDATED: AUGUST 18, 2002!

"Your word is your bond. ... Promises made must be promises kept." -- President George W. Bush

A few words about TRUST and Core Values.

Praying for someone special, 04/30/2000.
Yours truly, in a meditative moment, Medical Lake, Washington, April 30, 2000. Self-timed photo using
my Samsung Maxima 105 Zoom camera and Kodak Gold 800 film.

"I wish more people understood just how important keeping promises is in establishing and maintaining trust. Trust is the foundation of all associations, friendships, and relationships, be they personal, professional, or spiritual. It is a bedrock; a solid foundation upon which to build. Once that trust is breached or destroyed, the foundation erodes, and anything built upon it will either collapse upon itself, or be so severely weakened that it just might do the same." -- Me, June 30, 2000, from an e-mail to a friend.

Let me add here that any friendship or relationship without TRUST is mere acquaintanceship;
a fake friendship or relationship that cannot stand, and I cannot and will not maintain a friendship or relationship without a basis of TRUST.

When I first wrote those words over 2 years ago, I wouldn't realize just how prophetic I was. Recent events in my own life, as well as those in the news, only reinforce just how important TRUST is. Look at the Catholic parishoners who TRUSTED their priests, and had that TRUST abused. Look at the investors in corporations such as Enron and WorldCom who TRUSTED the corporate boards of directors not to place their investment in peril, and found that TRUST taken very much for granted.

God is trying to tell us all something here! Open your eyes NOW!
If you cannot see the WRONGNESS and HYPOCRACY of their actions, you are truly blind.

Look now at your own lives, and ask yourself these questions:

Have you ever taken someone else's TRUST for granted?
Have you ever made promises to someone and then deliberately NOT kept them?
Have you ever told someone they were "Number One" on your list, and then did something that called that placement into question?
Have you ever given someone your word, said they could TRUST you to keep that word, and then failed to be true to your word?
Have you ever made an agreement with someone (written or orally), and then deliberately broke that agreement or otherwise failed to honor it in a timely manner?

If you answered 'Yes' to any of them, you are a hypocrite, just like a board of directors who allows their company's fortunes to fall into ruin, or like a Catholic dioceses that allows priests to molest and abuse children and fails to take action!

What is TRUST all about? TRUST is all about being true to your words, keeping your promises, and fulfilling your agreements in a timely manner (not dragging them out for months on end), REGARDLESS of what obstacles are placed in your way, or who placed them there, or when, where, why, and how they were placed there!

When words and promises are not kept, when agreements are not fulfilled, and when obstacles are allowed to interfere with them, the seeds of doubt are planted and will grow to destory that TRUST!

The best attributes of friends? I'll list a few here:

Friends are those people you can TRUST to:

ALWAYS lay their life on the line for you, as Jesus did for 12 friends of his. (ref. John 15:13)
ALWAYS KEEP THEIR PROMISES!!!
ALWAYS back their words with consistent actions.
ALWAYS do special things for you, just because you are.
ALWAYS be there for you, in your times of greatest need or darkest despair.
NEVER abandon you.
NEVER take you or your TRUST in them for granted.
NEVER use you or hurt you (or use others to hurt you).
NEVER deliberately lie to, cheat on, or steal from you.
NEVER play games with your heart, mind, or life.

and most importantly...

NEVER shy away from the most important responsibility of friendship: telling you when you have been led astray and trying to guide you back to the 'straight and narrow' way, or taking you to task when you have neglected to keep your words, promises and/or agreements; even at the risk of losing that friendship. The greatest test of friendship is if they heed your warning or ignore it. If they ignore you, they never really were a friend.

NOBODY is perfect! We are only human after all; born to make mistakes.

I do my best to uphold these qualities and demonstrate my trustworthiness at every twist and turn in the road of life.

We should expect no more, and accept no less than the same treatment from our friends and associates.

The people listed below are some of the ones who have earned my trust, and the honor of my friendship.

Geoff - My college roomie at Montana Tech 1985-86, and the closest to a younger brother I'll ever have. We looked so much alike then, I called him 'my clone'. He is the voice of the spiritual balancing my voice of logic. We share so many common interests in music and comedy, too.

Jean F. - A family friend since June 1982, she has been there to help Mom, Sis, Kim & Tess many times.

Kelly - My recruiter. You were one of the best in the business because you always leveled with your recruits, and you personnified the Air Force's core values long before they were ever implemented:

INTEGRITY FIRST, Service Before Self, and Excellence in all we do.

Colleagues past: Ron M., Nancy B., Ana B., Howie W., Al O., Wm. Chris O'C., Lonnie C., Lana B., Becky C., Jeanne J., Harold (Brian) Smith, Antonio R., James N., Keith G., Mark H., Stan B., Dean McL., Terry R., Mark K., 'Stu': You also uphold (or upheld) the AF core values, and not only am I proud to have served with you, but also to call you friends who go the extra mile to do the right thing, no matter what the circumstances.

Pen-pals from back home: Tracy, Karyn, Heather, Rachel, Ardele, Cindy C., Cara, Marla, Jean F., Vicki, May - Thank you very much for being there and talking to me when no one outside of my family cared. :-)

A very special THANK YOU! to Jean F., Geoff, and May for being there for all of us following Kim's death.

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