By Mike Visscher –

When I first met Danny, he greeted me with a “big smile” and 39 years later he still has that “big smile”! Danny was nine years old at the time and I was 24. We met on August 4, 1975, through a Big Brother/Little Brother type program of Child and Family Services. Danny is now 48(49 on 9/19).

Danny lived with his mom, brother, and two sisters. His parents were divorced and his Dad remarried. His family moved a lot but always remained in Holland. Through it all, Danny kept a great attitude!

We had a special relationship which lasted ten years “officially,” but it has kept going for over 39 years. We haven’t always seen each other on a regular basis through the years because Dan graduated from high school in 1983, enlisted in the army, married his high school girl friend, Jody, and together raised three children (adults now) and adopted a five-year-old daughter. Dan owns a business repairing forklifts, a trade he learned in the army.

When Danny was a child, we usually did a lot of sports together, including attending Hope College basketball games. As adults, Dan and I still attend Hope games. He is a season ticket holder and treats me to supper/snacks. I tease him that he hasn’t quite paid me back yet for all the years that I treated him at games. He just grins and flashes me that “big smile”!

“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart…” – Proverbs 15:30