A Friendship More Than Skin-Deep

Not long ago, two 5-year-old boys solved a girl crisis with an innovative approach.

To determine the best suitor, they didn’t put on boxing gloves or shoot spitwads from a straw.

“Whomever could draw Bart Simpson best [got the girl],” Jesse Bronner said.

Bronner triumphed, but Josiah Johnson has never held it against him.

“We both get our fair share of women,” Johnson said.

Since they met in kindergarten, Johnson and Bronner have treated each other like brothers.

“He’s part of my family, I’m part of his family,” Johnson said.

Each has gone on trips with the other, stayed overnight for days, sat at the dinner table together on solemn occasions and looked upon each other’s moms as their own.

The two were brought together by common interests--basketball and girls. Nothing has changed.

They’re the senior captains for Montclair Prep’s basketball team. The 6-foot-8 Johnson, son of former UCLA and NBA player Marques Johnson, is the team’s top returning scorer. Bronner, a 6-3 starting forward, contributes with his hustle, strong defense and scrappy rebounding.

From age 4 to 12, they attended the same elementary school, then separated in junior high, Bronner attending Brentwood and Johnson going to Crossroads. Last year, Johnson decided to transfer to Montclair Prep and Bronner joined him.

Even when they didn’t go to school together or went weeks without talking, their friendship remained intact. All it took was one phone call and they’d reconnect as if they had spoken yesterday.

“They just bonded,” said Johnson’s mother, Jocelyn.

“Literally, it’s almost like they’re brothers,” said Bronner’s mother, Lynne. “They fight, they wrestle, they wear each other’s shoes.”

And here’s a revelation that neither considers relevant: Bronner is white, Johnson is African-American.

“We just think of each other as people,” Bronner said. “We don’t even see color. We’re so alike anyway, plus we’re in situations where he’ll be with my family and he’ll be the only black person around, and I’m sure he’s used to it, and I’m in situations where I’m the only white person when I’m with his family.”

Said Johnson: “You have to be above it. You can’t worry what other people think. Don’t acknowledge ignorance.”

They joke about experiencing each other’s family traditions. Johnson sat at the Bronner dinner table on Yom Kippur eating matzo ball soup and brisket. Bronner can’t wait to go to Johnson’s house and eat Jocelyn’s fried chicken and collard greens.

“I’m used to the soul food now,” Bronner said. “I love it.”

Their mothers are proud of their sons’ friendship.

“I think the bond of friendship overrules color lines,” Jocelyn said.

Added Lynne: “The greatest tragedy in our times is racism. They were both raised around every type of people. Jesse’s heart is just like my heart.”

During good and bad times, the two have always provided support. Bronner’s father died when he was 5. Johnson lost a 15-month-old brother to an accidental drowning when he was 5. Another brother battled leukemia.

“He’s always been there for me,” Bronner said. “Any problems, he’d be the one person I’d speak to before anyone else.”

The lifelong friendship of these two teenagers is inspiring.

“It’s a breath of fresh air,” Coach Howard Abrams of Montclair Prep said. “Nowadays, people hang around in groups with their own ethnicity rather than seeking out people with like interests. They’ve been doing it all their lives. You shouldn’t think it’s odd because it’s right.”

Destiny brought them together when they were 4 and nothing is going to keep them apart.

“I don’t even think of him as a normal friend,” Bronner said. “Friends can come and go. I know he’ll always be my friend.”

*

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com