Happy Birthday, Fizz!

I want to wish a happy birthday to my best friend of sixteen years, Mr. Fizz.

What can I say about such a friend? When I met Fizz, I was a very bitter young lady, with a chip on my shoulder as big as Pam Anderson's implants. I wasn't looking for a best friend...but he wasn't about to take "no" for an answer. And I thank God for it. What would I have done, these past sixteen years, without him?

Through him, I learned about loyalty, about compassion, about what true friendship is all about. I also learned about how brave a person could be, how strong a person can be, in the face of hatred, loss and heartbreak. I have never ceased to be amazed by him.

Among the gifts he has given me: his undying devotion, his wonderful humor when I have needed a laugh, his shoulder to cry on when I needed to weep. When so many of my friends scattered in the face of my chronic illness...Fizz stood his ground, and became even more dear to me. It's hard to articulate what we mean to one another, or to describe the deep and abiding bond that exists between us. I'm not sure the words even exist. I know one thing for sure, though: I can count on very few things in life, but Fizz's friendship is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the foremost.

Happy birthday, my friend. May this coming year bring you all the joy, love and happiness you so richly deserve.