Friday's Internet Edition, July 25, 2008.
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Features Editor
- Should you for some reason get turned into a toad, friends are the people willing to kiss you to see if you turn back into your old self.
Your friends are the people who know everything about you — and like you in spite of it.
A friend is someone who thinks you’re a good egg — even though you’ve got a crack or two (or three) in your shell.
A friend is there for you when he’d rather be anywhere else.
There is a Sicilian proverb I found on the Internet. It says your true friends are the ones who will tell you when your face is dirty.
Loyal friends laugh at your jokes when they’re not really so good, and sympathize deeply with your problems when they’re not really so bad.
When you make a fool of yourself, your true friends will insist you haven’t done permanent damage.
It isn’t so much the help of your friends that eases your woes — it’s the confidence that their help will be there when you need it.
It was this weekend when I discovered just what friends are — and just how many I have.
Moving is not any fun.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, Dear Reader. After all, we never realize just how much junk we have until we try to move.
Friends are the people who call you up at 9 p.m. on a Saturday, when they’ve just finished covering an event for this newspaper, and ask you if there’s anything you need.
“Do you need help moving boxes or anything? How about some food, are you hungry? Is there anything you need?”
Yep.
Friends are the people who look up with a smile when you walk into your office and are quietly happy that you’re happy. They might not say anything directly to you about it, but on the inside, they’re cheering for you.
Friends are the people who call you laughing because it’s raining cats and dogs on the day you’d chosen to move furniture. Friends are the people who then reschedule the move for the next day with a giggle and a grin.
Friends are the people who procure pickup trucks and reluctant boyfriends to help you move.
Friends are the people who don’t ask anything in return for their hard work — except maybe some lunch and a good, long hug.
Friends are the first people you think to call when you’re upset and frantic over being unable to find wayward cats who like to hide in strange places for hours on end.
Above all, friends are like fine wine — they get better and better the longer you have them.
I am sure you’ve got friends, Dear Reader — maybe even some good ones you’ve had for a great many years. Longtime friends or new, best friends or work friends, tell them how much you appreciate them. Send them a card, give them a hug, call them up ... something. Anything.
Friends are like money — they’re easier made than kept.
Work hard to keep yours.
(March 16)