WASHINGTON — It warmed the hearts of the ordinarily cold Internet universe when a video of Emmett Rychner, 3, and Erling Kindem, 89, and their fruitful friendship, born out of a mutual love for fresh tomatoes, went viral.
At the end of the touching online novella, it was reported that the two boys, 86 years apart, were soon to be parted, as Rychner’s family would be moving away after a decade of living next to Kindem, a World War II veteran, and his wife.
This surely brought tears to more than just mom Ankia Rychner, who said ending her son’s daily visits to Kindem — which included driving tractors in tandem, growing tomatoes, even playing croquet — was “the hardest part” of moving away.
Well, the young family made the move, and Kindem admitted to a reporter from KARE11 that he felt empty without his little friend. That changed, albeit momentarily, when Rychner came over for ‘a playdate.’ KARE11 has some great photos of the two, showing that generations of time can’t stop a true friendship from taking root.
Watch the original video below:
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