Old Friends

Susan Winters

Philadelphia Daily News

Charlie and Bill have known each other since Bill was shining Charlie's shoes as a young boy, and have maintained a close friendship since. Charlie was a rambling, gambling man, Bill a devoted family man. In their twilight years, Bill is still involved with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, at one point losing one of his sons in a sudden death. Charlie, at 99, decided to give up gambling and return to his Baptist religion, and encountered one illness after another. In one gesture of visiting Charlie when he is not well to give him a shave, Bill demonstrates the friendship that has endured the years.

Susan Winters, "Old Friends," in POYi Archive, Item #14286, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/14286 (accessed June 6, 2025).