Every Friday I go to lunch with a friend. Over the past couple of years we have found that we have a lot more in common then some of my other friends. Most of the other guys I hang out with are single and have no kids, but Tony has a wife and daughter. We talk about everything from religion to politics to life to family and once in awhile football. It has turned out to be a great friendship as we have both struggled over the past year with jobs and money. It has been nice to be able to discuss sales and financial problems with someone who works in the same field as myself.

Today was no different. Tony called and asked if I wanted to go up to Table Rock to have lunch. I told him that I wouldn't mind heading up there since I had never been before. We made the drive up to the top of the hill but as we came around a corner we noticed that the gate was closed. We looked at the sign and noticed that it said that the road was open May-October, so we had just missed it. Tony asked if I wanted to hike to the top and eat our lunch or if we should drive the truck to the top of a smaller hill and eat there. Not wanting to sound like a wuss I voted that we hike to the top. I wasn't prepared for this hike since I was in my Birkenstocks, and I had to exert extra energy to keep my shoes on. About half way up I was thinking that this was a dumb idea and that we should have stayed in the truck and eaten our lunches there.

As we made it to the top though the view as amazing. We caught our breath and then headed over to the edge to eat our lunch. The conversation was nothing new. Jobs, life and a little football but from the top of Table Rock it seemed like it didn't matter. As we walked back down to the truck it felt like we were walking back into reality and all of a sudden we had jobs again and worries but for a moment those things didn't exist.

I am grateful for the friends in my life and for the opportunity that I have to live in such a beautiful city. I wouldn't have thought of going up to Table Rock and I sure as heck wouldn't have thought about hiking up there but I am so glad that we did.