Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me
My memories of this song are still fresh in my mind. It is from the very first Toy Story movie released in 1995. Glad, I did the advanced booking, so I could see the movie during its opening week. This famous song by Randy Newman started playing in the background during the opening credits. The minute I heard the lyrics of the song, “You’ve got a friend in me,” I knew this is it! I instantly fell in love with the song and the Toy Story since then.
What is so special about this song?
The credit goes to meaningful lyrics and the harmonious rhythm of the song. I was touched by those powerful words, as it started to unfold the bond of friendship between Woody and Andy. It made me emotional back then and it still does.
Just like everyone else, I met many wonderful friends along the journey of my life. Some became very close, some had a smaller role in my life. But a handful of friends played a huge role. I could stay in touch with some of them as my journey continued, but I lost track of some.
I always said to my close friends, “Trust me, you’ve got a friend in me. You can always count on me.” And they did the same for me.
Sometimes I wonder — what would I have done without these wonderful friends in my life. They were there for me in stormy days of my life, when I needed their support the most and of course they were there in springtime of my life to dance with me in joy and celebrate good things in life. We did not always agree on everything, but we got along just fine.
As the song says -
You’ve got troubles, and I’ve got too
There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you
We stick together, and we see it through
’cause you’ve got a friend in me.
So, one of my childhood friends, Nutan was very close to me. We always used to hang out together. But as the time passed, we both went separate ways with different career path. Also, both of us got busy with our own families and we barely found time to contact each other. There was no social media existing in those days. Soon we lost touch.
After a few years when I found some breathing time in my life, I started looking for my friend. I tried everything possible in my capacity. I decided to visit her parent’s house, which I thought would be the easiest thing. But when I went there, I discovered that her parents had sold their house and moved somewhere else. I tried contacting some of our common friends, but it seemed as if everyone was busy with their lives and nobody knew anything. I started mailing letters to all the addresses I had for her, but everything got returned to me since the addressee was not found. A few years went by and I was almost about to give up. Then the social media world became alive. I got some energy and frantically tried to search for my friend on social media, but I had no luck.
One day my phone started ringing, but the number did not look familiar.
“Are you Sandy?” The voice from the other end asked.
“Let me hand over to my mom,” he said and when his mom came on line, I could not believe. It was my long-lost friend. What a pleasant surprise for me!
“How did you find my phone number? I have been trying to contact you so long.” I said
When I heard the full story, I realized how technology and social media have changed our lives and brought us together. So this is what happened. A couple of years ago, I was able to establish contacts with another childhood friend of mine through WhatsApp. Somehow, they both happen to meet and during their chat, my phone number was shared.
“Thanks to WhatsApp,” I must be thankful to the wonder of social media and today’s technology that brought two of us together after so many years. It was such a great feeling of relief and joy. Since then, we continued exchanging messages, sometimes calling each other. Although our lives went via different paths, it was very easy to reconnect. We knew that we are there for each other, forever friends!
Recently I was rushed to the ER with some stroke related complications. When Nutan, my friend heard about it and read my article How I survived the Stroke with a stroke of luck, she immediately called me and said, “Why don’t you come to my house for a few weeks?”
“Don’t you worry. You’ve got a friend here. I will take care of everything. You should simply relax and feel better,” she added.
I smiled and said to my best friend -
As the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You’ve got a friend in me
And I’ve got a friend in you
