One can look over the course of their life, and see the multitude of friendships they have or had in that time. It is true, teammates, colleagues, and friends can come and go. If you're really fortunate enough, you'll have a few that were there since the very beginning.

December 6th is a day in which I gladly can say, happy birthday, to my dear friend, Frank Anton Petrich. Having a "Frank" in your life is an extraordinary thing because this is a person that embodies loyalty, compassion, and humility to an unprecedented degree.

Frank is the friend who can pick up the phone and talk to you right where you last left off with him, even if it's been a month since you last spoke to him! On the compassion side, he shared many common hardships with me when both of our grandmothers were getting older, and it was important to check in with each other and be there when their passing arrived.

Frank is a man of true humility because he was raised in such light through his parents. While he had the most kick-ass 2008 Ford Escape, with chrome rims, he never flashed that in your face - but he sure didn't mind cranking up the music in the summertime with the windows down - and the bass was kickin'.

Frank asserted himself as a brother, from a different family, in my life. We experienced many different life events together, baseball championships, hockey tournaments, soccer tryouts, graduations, birthdays, casual Fridays of movies or friend gatherings...the list could go on forever. It does not seem possible, but it has been 22 years from day 1 of friendship. These 22 years are some of the best memories of my life. I hope that many more are on the horizon, for laughter, for sincerity, for humility. December is a great month to celebrate this guy, and his name is Frank the Tank.

P.S. Make sure to have a few cold ones. As hard and for as many hours you put in, take some time to enjoy yourself and 28 years of life!