In 1955, so many years ago, a man was drafted into the United States Army, looking forward to being deployed to Korea. However, things didn’t turn out as planned, as he was stationed in Tokyo, Japan. It was there that he met a fellow soldier, Ken, and their friendship was one everyone knew about.
Ken lovingly used to call him Tex, a name no one had ever called him with before. Their similar interests, like regularly visiting the church every week and archery, made the bond inseparable. Ken was also extremely good at the powerful bamboo bow.
After their service period ended, Tex’s service ended first, and he had to return home early; however, the sad part was that the friends lost contact. After returning, they had minimal hope that they would ever meet each other again, but destiny always has its plan.
Nearly four decades later, in 1990, Ken was eager to meet his long-lost friend. He had his phone books from Texas and called everyone mentioned with the same last name as Tex, but unfortunately, nothing worked immediately. After a day of trying, he finally found the number! When he cold-called the person on the other side of the phone, ‘Tex,’ they knew fate had made them meet again.
Ken asked, ‘Is this Tex?’ He heard a little laugh and said, ‘ Only if it’s the guy with the bamboo bow. ‘ It was a magical moment for the two friends; they had beautiful memories together. Determined not to lose contact again, they often wrote letters to each other and called, too. The sad part was that the two lived over 1,000 miles apart, and the distance always got in the way when they discussed meeting each other.
Fast-forward to 2015, when Ken was emotionally hurt and shattered by his son’s passing.
Ken’s daughter knew Tex could help him return to life, so she contacted him and, full of hope, invited him to Texas to surprise his old friend. Upon receiving the email, Ken was instantly ready and accepted the invitation. That’s the bare minimum in a friendship: to be there, to hold tight.
They had a perfectly planned series of events, so Tex’s daughter brought him to Fort Worth, decorated the house with an army theme, and pretended it was all for the Bible study they were working on! One of the daughters also rushed to the airport to pick him up. It was the first time meeting the person his father talked about so much!
When they returned home, Ken walked to the door and asked if Tex was there. There was only one person in the entire world who called him by this name! He knew and was in tears the moment he hugged his old friend tightly.
‘I never thought I would see you again,’ he wept. It was a two-week visit, so the friends had enough time to geçirir memories. Not just this, they explored the entire town together and visited a military convoy display. It felt like a dream!
It was not just fate but the power friendships hold—the power to heal! Although saying goodbye was hard, the time spent together was beautiful. It was all that mattered!
