Two of my oldest friends in the world came by a couple weeks ago to share a couple of football games and some comraderie with me.  Jim Stevenson, in the royal blue shirt still lives in the MD suburbs near Capital Heights, MD but his parents still live in Highland Park, MD right around the corner from where the late Clarence Roach, Godfather to my Oldest Brother John Henry III, lived when we were growing up.  Byron Lyon, in the light tan shirt, moved from the MD area a couple of years ago and now lives in Rocky Mount, NC. I’ve known Jim since I was 6 and Byron since I was 8,  as Poncho Roach and all of us grew up together. Well I had not seen Jim and Byron in over 5 years so it was a good day all around and we had a lot of fun. It was a day of renewal for us as we have known each other now for over 40 years. I am known by one and all of their families from their parents and their children to their spouses and siblings simply as “Sugar Bear” and have always been made to feel welcome by all of them. In fact in 2002 whem I was in DC taking care of my terminally ill daughter and working for Care First and the US Dept of Transportation instead of living in a hotel I stayed with Byron and his family for an extended time saving me a lot of money and giving me a chance to establish myself during an extremely critical time. Byron still travels back to MD on a regular basis and I have been invited down to Rocky Mount to join Byron and his family for Thanksgiving. I may not make the trip to NC but the offer was greatly appreciated none the less. Byron, Jim and I have always been as close as family and I thank God for both of these men and for their friendship & love over these last four decades. Thank you Byron and Jim for a very good day!