Two Old Men Sitting On the Park Bench

Every day, there is always two old men, Bernard and Bernie, sitting on a park bench outside of the public library.

"For the past 30 years we have sat on this bench ," the old men said.
"This bench has been through every eventful memory and story with us.

A young lady decided to sit on the end of park bench.

"Hello young lady, what is your name," Bernard said.
"My name is Tammy,"she said.
"Do you know what bench you are sitting on Tammy," he asked curiously.
"No I don't,"she said. "Who's bench is it Mr.-"
"Bernard," he said. "Its is called the Bernard and Bernie bench. It is our bench. The bench we laughed, cried, and argued on for the past 30 years."

"So everyday, both of you come and sit here," Tammy asked.

Bernie looked at her and laughed. 

"We talked about everything on this bench," Bernie said. "We talked about our good days and bad days. Our ups and downs."

"For example, I remember a day where we both were having bad days," Bernard said. "It was a day that I will never forget."

"Tell me, I want to know," Tammy said.

"Well, we both were having awful days," Bernard began. "I told Bernie that I wanted to give up because things were getting worse. That year, my wife was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. The doctor told us that more than likely, she would not survive the disease. It tore me down to the core. After the doctors appointment, I dropped my wife off at home and came straight to the bench. I needed the bench talk that day. Quite frankly, it worked. "

"Yes it did for both of us," Bernie said. "My day was not as bad as Bernard's but, it was pretty bad. I went into work and saw all of my stuff packed up in my office. Of course I am worried, so I walk into my office and see a note on top of my stuff. The note said I'm sorry, but we have to let you go. I got fired that day through a note. There was no meeting, my adviser was not there, my boss was not there either. I grabbed my stuff and left. Guess where I went."

"Straight to this bench, The Bernie and Bernard bench," Tammy said.

"You are absolutely right," Bernard said. "We both met here at the same exact time. I saw Bernie's face and he saw mine."

"We knew from each others faces that we really needed to talk," Bernie said. "I started talking and tears rolled down my eyes because I didn't know what to do."

"The best part of having a best friend, you get a lot of good advice from them and this was one of those days," Bernard said.

"Bernie gave me some advice that I thank him for everyday," said Bernard. "He told me to take her by her hand and hold her through it all. That is what I did and now she is about to be a 9 year survivor of breast cancer. I thank Bernie for the talk and this bench."

"Bernard gave me great advice too,"Bernie said. "He told me, when one door closes, god open another. God opened up a new door for me 2 weeks after that. It is a better job than I had before. So for me, I thank Bernard and this bench."

"Wow," Tammy said.

"This bench means more than just a bench to us," Bernie said. "It symbolizes a safe haven for us. A place where we can come to express and talk about our life. I will always love this bench."

"This will always be our bench," Bernard said. "The Bernie and Bernard bench."