My Old Friend

Okay, when I was thinking about what to write, I was going to write about an old friend, Chuck. I’ve known Chuck since the mid-80’s.

As I begin to actually write this though, I now wonder about a few things. Not about Chuck. More about “old friend”.

Well, ‘old”, long standing? Like I said, I’ve known Chuck since 1985 or 1986. That is a long time. So, “old” means we have history.

See, then comes the other thing, “friend”. What do I consider a friend?

There’s the tricky part. There’s friends and then there’s Friends, and I don’t mean Quakers. Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You know.

There are “friends” at work. Great people. I have a good time with them. We even go out for drinks and stuff. But, they’re “work” people. They have their place. It’s at work. There’s no real impact at home.

Then there’s friends in the neighborhood. We hang out, drink beer, bullshit.

Friends from childhood? You see them once in awhile and you talk about the old days.

They’re all friends. It’s all good.

But a “Friend”, a capital F Friend, is something more. Those people are the people you’ve shared something personal with, something deeper, something meaningful with.

I feel a little hesitant to publish this at the moment. Especially with Facebook throwing the word “friend” around so easily. I have a lot of friends. I have far fewer “Friends”.

I don’t want this to offend my friends. You are wonderful people. You’re great. My life would be far less interesting without you. But let’s face it, I’m only one of your friends anyway.

That doesn’t mean we can’t still have a good time.

And, if you’re a Friend of mine, I’m a Friend of yours, and we both know why.

And so, I’ve written nothing about my old Friend Chuck this time.

Oh, I will some time.