What are Friends Anyway...?

Sorry I'm so late with this post...very busy week. We had rain here in Vegas and that throws everyone off. So my question this week is "what are friends anyway?" The dictionary states: Friend--a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

Growing up as a boy of divorce there were many times I didn't feel as though I had a friend to my name. I felt as though many of my schoolmates didn't even know I was alive. But in Chapter 4 of "Sensitivity 101 for the Heterosexual Male, Lessons Learned from the Fairer Sex" I introduce you to Lisa and Sally.

These girls became my first real friends. Through the years others had moved on or moved away, but these two stayed in my life for a long time. As we grew older, we obviously changed both physically and emotionally. We developed our own very distinct opinions, yet we still managed to like and respect each other. The three of us remained together because we had accepted each other a long time earlier for what each of us brought to the table. We stayed friends through good times and bad and were always there every Saturday morning to encourage each other. I learned from Lisa and Sally that friendship is the most important thing you can have in yor life.

Now a mere 40 years later the idea of friendship comes up again. Remembering that back in the day I didn't think anyone knew who I was or that I even existed I am somewhat surprised--with the advent of social media like Twitter and especially Facebook--at what is happening.

Knowing that friends have an attachment to each other, I am amused, yet still very happy, to have befriended over 300 people who now know me. And in fact, what I have found is that over half of my "new friends" are actually ones that I went to grade school and high school with. Although some are older and others are younger, they all seem to remember me and my past. They even relate to and remember parts of my book that they may have been a distant participant in. I wonder where they were back when I really needed them as I grew up in what I thought was an isolated world.

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and have these "friends" back then. Funny what time and aging do to people. It is so nice to re-connect with names from my past, and to realize that we all do matter, that we all do know more people than we think and that we are all connected in some way or another.

So whether you are an acquaintance, ally, associate, buddy, chum, cohort, colleague, companion, comrade, mate, pal, partner, playmate, sidekick or soul-mate of mine, I thank you.

And now, thanks to my book, I can also add well-wisher to my list "friends, fans, and followers." You can become a "fan" of Sensitivity 101... at www.facebook.com/sensitivity101.

Whatever our relationship is or was or may be, I thank you for being there now on this part of my journey. This is my act of kindness this week.

It may seem weird for a guy, but this is one of my favorite TV shows of all times and expresses just how I feel today. Enjoy!



Till next week,

Phil