Thursday, January 10, 2008 - Fun Is Hard Work!
Raise your hand if you’ve ever owned a boat. Ever owned a cabin in the mountains? Ever gone skiing? Or camping? Have you ever traveled to Europe? Ever hosted a party? All fun things, right? All are also hard work! Yes, fun is hard work!
It was the summer of 1985 and I had just finished high school. It was a truly memorable summer. I had just met a new best friend. His name was John Elmassian. He was a very lucky kid. He owned a motorcycle, a new car, and a boat, all before he turned eighteen. He lived in a huge house, with a huge pool, and his parents and brothers had huge bank accounts. He was very lucky, but man did he work hard!
I just so happened to get invited to his graduation party the weekend after graduation. It was a pool party in the middle of June in Los Angeles. Talk about good times! His parents were away for the weekend and he had the house to himself.
I happened to show up late, in the early evening. I had just come home from the beach when another friend called and told me about John’s party. I showed up around seven and most of the people had gone home. Most importantly, most of the girls had gone home. I guess they all had better parties to go to. I happened to call a few girls who eventually showed up. All in all, five girls I knew showed up. I got lucky because they were all juniors, and they weren’t invited to other graduation parties. From that moment on, I was John’s best friend.
After the party, John asked everyone to sleep over. It was a great night for John. One of the girls really liked him, and vice versa. That night, and the days and weeks following, I realized John wasn’t your regular run-of-the-mill teenager. He worked extremely hard. He was constantly picking up his house, without anyone really noticing. I think I was the only one who noticed. He also cleaned the pool the following morning. He was incredibly responsible, and it rubbed off of me.
In the next few days and weeks, John and I became inseparable. He took me everywhere. He took me to Little Tokyo and introduced me to sushi. I had ten dollars in my pocket, and the bill was over seventy dollars between us. Money was not an object to John, but I never took advantage. I always reminded him that I wasn’t as privileged as he was. He was also aware of it, and was very considerate. He took me to his family’s cabin in Big Bear Lake. I had never seen a better cabin. In the mountains he introduced me to riding a dirt bike. I almost killed myself, and never to this day road another bike.
Another time, we took a girl he was dating back to Big Bear Lake. We took his family’s boat with us, and we had a great time learning to water ski. Of course, John was a pro. I managed to stay standing for about ten seconds. The girl, about three seconds. After getting back to a day of boating, we spent three hours cleaning and waxing the boat. Believe it or not, I didn’t mind at all!
What was amazing about all these fun things were that not only were they great fun, but there was so much hard work involved. John always cleaned the house and the cabin we stayed in. It wasn’t just your ordinary cleaning. I mean really serious cleaning. Every inch, from top to bottom we cleaned. He waxed his car and his motorcycle weekly, and when we got back from the boat trips, we would wax the entire boat. He wasn’t a clean-freak lunatic. John was just a hard working, proud guy. He appreciated all his material luxuries, and helped me appreciate them as well. Towards the end of the summer, I helped him paint his older brother’s new office and I’ll never forget the satisfaction of what we accomplished. He later told me, “outside of his family, he hadn’t met too many people who appreciated hard work”. John definitely taught me a great lesson.
After the summer, he went away to college. We kept in touch for another couple of years, and lost contact after that.
John was definitely a rare friend. As I got older, I was lucky enough to have acquired the same things he exposed me to. I’ve owned a cabin in Big Bear Lake, a couple of nice cars, a few houses. I’ve also done plenty of skiing and camping, have traveled the world, and yes, I’ve also owned a boat.
They say the two happiest days in life are the day you buy a boat, and the day you sell it.
Why? Because fun is hard work!
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About Me
Robert Calixto read a simple quote, and suddenly his creative floodgates opened! One of those self-defining, quotable quotes you read on Reader’s Digest. He is patiently working on a scifi/political thriller, a self-help/sales manual, and a biography. Being a columnist helps him focus on his newfound challenge, writing! The quote? ”You don’t find yourself, you make yourself.”
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