The $100 Friends

Over the course of my life I have made many ridiculously stupid decisions; decisions Carrot Top would be ashamed to admit.  Now you may say, "Oh Brock, we all do dumb things. You're not the only one." To which I’ll reply, "Have you ever pretended to be a schizophrenic on a blind date? Or have run away from the cops down a set of railroad tracks completely buck naked?" No! That would be the moron writing this blog.

Last week though, I may have added yet another story to my ever increasing list of stupidity.

At least that's what you'll probably say.

For full effect, download "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove and play at maximum volume throughout the duration of this post.

If my family is reading this, and I hope to high heaven they’re not, because if so, they may hunt me down, slice open my kidneys and leave me bleeding out and abandoned in a backcountry woodshed in Western Kentucky. At least that’s what most women do when you cross their path.  I'm just going to pray that my sister's expanding uterus will keep their attention diverted and steer them away from this blog for the week.

Last weekend I took a last minute, spur-of-the-moment, what-the-curse word-is-he-thinking, four-hour road trip from the sunny skies in St. George to the cloudy boogers of Layton and back, all of this in under a day’s time.  Usually spending $100 on gas roundtrip there must be something of extreme importance pushing you, like incoming nieces, spring sales at Nordstrom’s, or tickets to a Justin Bieber concert.  But do you want to know what got me in the car and pushed me 647 miles last Friday night?

A church basketball game.

This is the part where the judging can begin. Yes kids, this guy drove from St. George to Layton and back all within 17 hours simply to play in a church basketball game. But it wasn't just ANY church basketball game, it was the first round of the West Weber County 28 and over Family Ward Church Basketball Regional Championship. Come on now, that's reason enough isn't it?

This is the part where most of you will slap your foreheads dramatically, and shake your heads in disgust.

But before you go and toss my character to the side and burn any shreds of respect you once had for me at least at some point in your life, please hear me out. The reason I went on this excursion wasn't for the game, it was for the guys I was playing with.  And in my mind, they were reason enough.

For the last three years of my life I have lived extensively on the road. (If you read this blog consistently you of course know this). And I will admit that using the backseat of my Nissan Rogue as an address can add severe stress, almost to the point of welcoming a strait jacket with open arms. The one thing however that has helped keep my sanity in check is the married ward church basketball league I've been playing in every year, and that same handful of guys who have been in the lineup with me as well.

Yep, that’s right.  A three-point shooter from Wyoming, a rotund janitor, one of my best friends from high school, and a blind kid were my reasoning for getting in my car last Friday night.  And that’s justification enough for me. 

You see, I didn't actually care if we won the game last Saturday. I didn't make the trip for that at all. I made the trip just to be with those guys who stuck with me over the last three years of my life. And who were the best therapists I could find on a wood floor throwing outlet passes. It wasn't about the title, or the bragging rights, heck, it’s church basketball for crying out loud. That last-second spree was about being loyal to those four guys who have been on my side.  And in my mind, they're worth the $100 road trip. They are my $100 friends.

So go ahead, laugh at me. Demolish any mental ounce of respect you may have once had for me.  Stereotype me as an unconventional loser who doesn’t know how to budget.  But before you close the browser window and move on to the next amusing piece of Sunday pie lining up your Facebook feed, let me ask you something that may toss you into a stupor for a good solid seven minutes; how many $100 friends do you think you actually have in your own life?

More importantly, and this is what may throw your self-esteem for a giant loop, how many of the people you call "friends" do you think would have made that same $100 trip for you?