I met an old friend in the post office the other day, an old friend who is in the struggle of his life. "I'm in a winwin situation," he told me. "Whatever happens, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Wylie Dallas, "Fella" to his friends, paused at the service window to speak to my mother and me and to others who came and went in rapid succession. Everybody he met he embraced and it was obvious he loves, and is loved in return by, the citizens of Lincolnton.

Soon Fella and I were reminiscing about our childhoods over on Humphrey and Dallas Streets. "We were all family back then," he said, choking back tears and recalling how we used to roam up and down the streets together in search of a rowdy game of kick-the-can or a partner to rollerskate with us around the courthouse square.

Fella has been sick for several months now and while his name has topped prayer chains all over the county, I had not seen him since I ran into him in the drugstore several months ago.

He looks good, and if he hadn't mentioned his illness I would have sworn he was in excellent health. Still a robust teddy-bear of a man, Fella remains married to Florence, his high school sweetheart and the two have lived in Lincolnton for as long as I can remember.

They are blessed with many good friends, close family, and are now the doting grandparents of a fine grandson, courtesy of daughter Meredith. Fella will gladly tell you he is a lucky man despite his current challenge and something tells me he will beat this illness and be stronger than ever. One thing is for sure; his friends from Humphrey and Dallas streets are counting on it.

In the movie "Stand by Me" there's a line that says "I never had any friends like the ones I had when I was 12 years old." At 58 years of age I finally understand the meaning of that line.

Friends we make when we are young are special. Sure, all of us have made friends as adults, many of them close friends. We admire them, spend time laughing and crying with them, and consider them the salt of the earth.

But of necessity, our lives with them are scheduled, planned out to the minute, and usually relegated to weekends and summer vacations. We talk about taxes, careers, houses, and children, yet something is missing in our relationships that was present in our childhood friendships….innocence.

When we see old friends we see ourselves as we once were and our hearts are warmed at the memory. We see simpler times. Times without mortgages, deadlines, hidden agendas, and debilitating illnesses.

We've all heard the phrase, "You know, whenever I see an old classmate or childhood friend, even if we haven't seen each other for years, it's like we haven't missed a day; we just pick up where we left off."

Bottom line, friends we make as adults are just never quite as close as the ones we make as children.

Author Mitch Albom puts it this way: "We are connected as adults, but not intertwined. It's the difference between the inside of an organized closet and the inside of a high school locker. The first is put together. The second is, by nature, all over itself. We were all over ourselves as kids. And then we grew up."

Fella Dallas hasn't changed one whit since the days we scooted up and down courthouse street. A little taller and rounder at the middle maybe (like a lot of us), his smile partially hidden under a full beard. The only signs that his body is under tremendous strain are that his eyes are weary and his legs are weak from months of chemotherapy. In his heart and in his mind, however, he remains the same rambunctious boy we knew and loved so long ago.

Remember Fella in your prayers tonight, dear hearts. He's having a rough time and, after all, that's what friends are for. You can bet a game of kick-the-can he'd do the same for you.