Friends....

I know a lot of people. I literally know hundreds of people. I say I know them but when I see them, I have to shuffle through the mental Rolodex to try and remember the name of who it is I'm talking to. I know people that I buy things from, I do things for, owe money to or hire on a temp basis. I know them. We are not friends.

I have a little over 100 Facebook friends. I'm funny about who I friend. I know most of them personally from some time in the past. Most of them were classmates and now, almost 40 years later, we are "friends". Some are work related and some just seemed interesting. That's cool. I like thinking that we are but in reality, we don't know each other.

I hold friendship in really high regard. I have a very narrow definition of the word. I have 2 very good friends. These friends hold my trust and I theirs. It's a bond that cannot be broken for any reason. That's why we are friends.

We didn't set out on a coarse to become such friends but common interest and life made us so. I like that. I like having someone I can talk to about almost anything. They know me better than anyone else in the world and I know them as well. There isn't a competition between us, there is respect and love.

We all lead separate lives and have different hopes for the future, but we are in each others corners. Moral support is rampant. Shoulders are always there and the words are constantly flowing. I just spent a weekend with one and we talked about everything for 2 days! I was a soul cleansing that we both needed.

These 2 people are my family. I love them both and they me. We are good for each other and will for all intents and purposes, will always be bonded by the river of life we all are floating on. Most people think that if they know someone, they are friends. That is true to an extent, but to really know someone like I know these 2, and the way they know me, that takes the meaning to a level few people experience. Some never experience the depth of the relationship we have, I am fortunate to have 2 people that I am proud to call my friends. I am a blessed man for the experience.

Thank you for being my friends.