What I learned from Paul when I was 15

I met Paul when I was 15. It was 1987, and the 'Great Storm' that hit the UK was still a month away.  At school I had the opportunity to do 'community visiting' - and so every Friday afternoon for a year I went to visit Paul. Paul was a year or two older than me. His physical and mental disabilities were never explained to me, perhaps I never asked, or perhaps it didn't matter in the context of my visits. I know that he regularly had epileptic fits. Every week,  he'd play me a record on his record player. The same record. On repeat. It was The Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh - how could I forget? He would rock delightedly back and forth and I would smile, talk to him, listen to him, and enjoy his reaction to the music. Gradually, our relationship got warmer and warmer. Over 25 years later, I'm beginning to realise how much I learned from Paul: The importance of reliability: I never missed a week. In fact, I went a few times in the school holidays. Paul knew I would always come. I'm sure this helped build our friendship. The importance of listening: ahead of my first visit, I was particularly scared that we wouldn't be able to talk to each other. I needn't have worried. I learned to listen, to enjoy the odd silence, and to smile together. The courage to find solutions: after a month or two, I was really getting tired of The Lady in Red. I can still recite all the lyrics! My solution was to go and buy him a new record that I thought he might like - Caravan