In a small town where the river bends,
two friends grew up and stayed as friends.
Through life they wandered, side by side,
their laughter rolling far and wide.
They built their brotherhood in the summer sun,
they raced and played till the day was done.
Through troubles at school, through scrapes and falls,
their voices echoed in the village halls.
Years rolled on, as years will do,
yet still their friendship steadily grew.
One turned to work, the other to family,
but both held a bond that lived on happily.
Through storms of life, through toil and test,
each found in the other a place of rest.
When one would stumble, the other would stay,
lifting the burden, lighting the way.
Now one sits where the old trees grow,
a bench by the creek where breezes blow.
The other has gone, his laughter still,
yet the air feels warm, as if it’s filled.
Filled with echoes of long-ago days,
of campfire stories and childhood plays.
The living friend smiles through a gentle tear,
and whispers softly, “You’re still near.”
For friendship does not end with the grave,
nor fade away like a passing wave.
It lingers in stories, in songs we sing,
in every season, in everything.
So when the children gather near,
they hear of kindness, of bonds sincere.
And the elder says, with a voice that’s kind,
“Friendship lives on in heart and mind.
After all, we are stories, from start to the end,
and mine is the story of a faithful friend.”
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees, in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 60 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) continuous education in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.
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