Good evening ladies and gents
Trouble loves company
After the first year of our friendship our preschool teacher told my mom that we must be kept apart… because we would cause too much trouble
She may have been on to something because we have managed to find our way into some tricky situations over the years
Not long after this pronouncement, we almost burnt down the Parsonage’s house
We were just trying to make a braai in the front garden
Perhaps Chris was starting early in researching his infamous love of McDonald‘s burgers
Our poor culinary skills quickly shed light on our poor fire fighting skills
Things got out of hand quickly and before we knew it the fence was on fire. Chris and I were trying to beat out the fire with fire wood while there was a hosepipe mere metres away and Vaunda was shrieking as she dashed out of the house to avert disaster
Having two boys before Chris, Vaunda expected Chris to get up to a fair amount of trouble. My parents, on the other hand, had two daughters before me, which lulled them into a false sense of security about the behaviour of their children. They were convinced that Chris was the one causing the trouble
They might have had a point in the early days
Chris has always been outgoing and fun
With plenty of jokes, he was the one who was talking to the girls, receiving valentines flowers and getting invites for us to random parties where we pretended that we were from other schools so we did not have to take accountability for our actions
Over the years, I started to take trouble more seriously until eventually one day it was Vaunda and Chris picking me up from the police station and after run in with the law one late night in Claremont
I was too embarrassed to phone my parents and the Parsonages have always been my family
Trouble loves company and Chris is not one to be left out of the fun so on a holiday to Sun City a few years later with Mike Carris Chris and I both managed to find ourselves on the wrong side of the local law enforcement
In our defense, our actions are no longer illegal so perhaps history should view us as visionaries not villains
Friendship is based on a mutual forgiveness
So, sorry mom for being an irresponsible youth!
Like any good marriage, Chris and I have had a share of low-level power struggles over the years. I guess you can put it down to two stubborn people testing each others’ will power. Chris might friendly and fun but he does not like to let people get all their own way
One memorable story from my 6th birthday I can share
Chris had not yet arrived so my mom asked me where he was because I had seen him the day before. “I don’t care” I answer because evidently we had left things on a bad note the day before
It turns out Chris fell on a knife almost hitting his kidney’s which could have had a more severe impact on his life
Apart from providing good insight into just how wretched I could be, this taught me about forgiveness and the fragility of everyday life
Friendship with Chris reflects my own life back at me in an indescribable way. It is impossible to imagine life without this friendship because are too many memories and pivotal moments to untangle
Camping, holidays in Clan William and Plettenberg Bay and many a sleep over…
In the early years Chris sometimes kept tomato sauce in his room. Chris really likes tomato sauce and I assume this is another clue in the great hamburg mystery
How far we have come
Chris and I are remarkably different people but sometimes opposites make for fierce combination. Our friendship has drifted from time to time but never too far. Someone has always reached out to reconnect. We might have been in a low level power struggle but there has always been some compromise at the end of the day. I even managed to get Chris into voice noting in recent years, which seemed an impossible task at first
2022 was a tricky year for those of us invested in and running businesses in the digital asset world. It can be a lonely time when bitcoin falls 80% during its bear markets as not many people know how to relate
Chris being the fun, outgoing, entertaining and social person that he is, is not always the first to have a deep conversation about life’s darker moments
But at some point during the year I realised that Chris had been checking in on me pretty much every month during the year
It makes emotional to recognise how far our friendship had come
He was there, checking in and pulling me through a really challenging time. That love, care and support really went a long way and it provides an important message about this guy
Yes, the social qualities are well known by anyone who knows Chris but below the surface there is a loving, caring and intensely loyal friend who will go to the end of the earth and back during a time of need
The ultimate touchstone of friendship is witness
A passage from my favourite poet, David Whyte: “But no matter the medicinal virtues of being a true friend, or sustaining a long close relationship with another. The ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the self, nor of the other. The ultimate touchstone of friendship is witness The privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another. To have walked with them, and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them, for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone”
Well, I have witnessed a lot
Today I see the same old Chris, fun, friendly, loyal, etc. But so much more too
I see a businessman, a business partner, a leader of people’s career’s, and an international jet setter
I see you more focused on your physical and mental health, exercising and loving your outdoors holidays
I see this blossoming relationship with Sophie and her role in some of these changes
It is that its amazing that Sophie has managed to pull this wedding together with Chris. Chris is not one for planning and a huge amount of planning has gone into this here day
Jokes aside, it is beautiful to witness the positive impact of Sophie and this relationship on Chris. He’s lucky to have such a powerful woman as you
I was lucky enough to spend a week with Chris and Sophie during a covid quarantine and was able to experience Sophie’s warmth, hospitality and humour
I am looking forward to spending many more holidays with you guys in the future
Wishing you forgiveness, compromise, loyalty, communication and lots of trouble as you adventure life together
Sound Money 