They're Friends

Emmett (left) and Erling (right) on their matching tractors.

It's a friendship that started when they were neighbors in Farmington, Minnesota, between a three-year-old tot and an 89-year-old man. Emmett Rychner, now four years old, met Erling Kindem, now 90 years old, a few months ago over some tomato plants Erling was growing in his garden. There would be Erling working in his garden, and Emmett, curious about how his world worked, would wander over.

Erling said, "Every time he saw me out there, he'd come running over. [Emmett would ask] 'Erling, got any 'matoes?'" Then, before anyone knew it, the two had become friends. They would draw pictures, play croquet, and, their favorites, ride bikes and lawnmowers. Last summer, people took notice of both, who were separated in age by more than 80 years, when videos were posted of both together, riding a lawnmower and bike that looked rather similar.



Then, the two friends became separated by miles, when the Rychner family moved sixteen miles away to a new home. Then Erling and his wife moved to a retirement community. But regular visits remain part of the schedule, because you can't really keep a good friendship down, and the two miss each other during the time between visits.

Just recently, Erling turned 90 years old, and among the guests was a very special friend. Emmett and his family made the trip to help in the celebration. Among the gifts was a set of dog tags, one for each of these special friends, just like the dog tags Erling had worn back during WWII. The dog tags are engraved "Emmett & Erling", along with "Friends Forever" in Norwegian. At the end of the celebration, when Emmett was leaving with his family, Erling was heard to say, "You come back again." And Emmett responded, "I will eventually."

Ah, friends! What would we do without them? Friendships can occur without much rhyme or reason, and this very special friendship spans a large gap in years. It's between a young boy setting out to discover the world and a knowledgeable older man, who can answer some of the questions of a curious young boy.

Erling and Emmett at Erling's 90th birthday celebration.

Thanks to this article from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/05/erling-kindem-emmett-rychner-_n_6802786.html, and this article from KARE, channel 11: http://www.kare11.com/story/life/2015/03/02/emmett-erling-wwii-veteran-preschooler/24297201/.

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