九岁的史蒂夫·克劳夫家搬到乔治亚州的哥伦布以后,找不上朋友。一天,同一条街上搬来了一户人家,有个男孩跟史蒂夫差不多大小。史蒂夫的母亲说:“我们过去打个招呼吧。”半个钟头后,史蒂夫已经同帕特·木林斯在草坪上互相追逐啦。他俩的友谊发展几十年,经历了人生的曲折坎坷。各自都结了婚,成了家。帕特的母亲死于癌症时,帕特到史蒂夫这儿来寻求慰藉。两年后史蒂夫父亲死了,史蒂夫又去找帕特。 1987年史蒂夫的公司快垮了。他去找帕特,谈他的问题一直谈到天明。帕特提醒史蒂夫:“我们曾一起度过艰难的岁月。每次你都能挺起腰板, Nine-year-old Steve Clover moved to Columbus, Georgia, to find friends. One day, a family moved to the same street, a boy about the same size as Steve. Steve’s mother said: “We used to say hello.” Half an hour later, Steve and Pat Woodlands chased each other on the lawn. Their friendship developed for decades, experienced twists and turns ups and downs of life. Each married, became a home. When Pat’s mother died of cancer, Pat went to Steve to seek comfort. Two years later, Steve’s father died, and Steve went to Pat again. Steve’s company collapsed in 1987. He went to Pat and talked about his problem until dawn. Pat reminded Steve: "We had a tough time together, and every time you strained,