Twenty years ago I called a friend I’d already known for fifteen years and said, “You’re my best friend, but we’ve dwindled down to a phone call now and then and a card at Christmas. I want to spend more time with you on a regular basis. What do you think?” He immediately said, “I feel the same way.” We decided that day to maintain phone contact regularly, meet halfway between our homes (three hours apart) a couple of times per year, and go on retreat together for three days