i just thought i would post a new thread about good friends,we all have lots of aquaintences but how many of you have really good friends?what makes a good friend?they say to have many friends you need to be a good friend 1st,all my life both my wife and i have bought our friends,you know if they need money you lend it and then its a job to get it back or they keep out of your way, and so they are not friends, you help someone out using your labour maybe help with their car or house or garden or whatever,but when you need help there are always excusses,,,WHY ARE PEOPLE LIKE THIS we don,t have any REAL friends,what have we been doing wrong?lets see if we can get a lot of feedback on this,cause i am really curious as to how others see this,mike

Well Mike...I don't know if this is gonna sound corny, but a lot of my friends....are right here on the Zone....and I've never even met them, but I think of them as friends because we've shared concerns, helped one another through some rough times, and have agreed to disagree at times.
For me too...my best friend, is my lady Cathy. I've got a lot of musical aquaintances that I think of as good friends 'cos they know where I'm coming from.
Together, Cathy & I have many friends although there are times that I could do without some of their "poor me" feelings, or complaints, only because I know if they got their sh*t together, they wouldn't be suffering from "poor me" syndrome.

As always....your friend...shboom

------------------
...shboom

i agree,we have a lot of friends here,some of them i have met,i,m talking about (LOCAL)close friends ,cause it seems in life that if you help someone,its about GIVE and TAKE but there seems to be those that give and others that take,mike

I think people get wrapped up or overwhelmed in their day to day anxieties and they never get around to looking outward....

By the way ol pal ol friend, I'm running a little lite on cash, can ya help me?





[This message has been edited by MrEd (edited 04-14-2005).]

I have many friends, but also several GOOD friends. There are three that I could call on for just about anything. The thing about friends like that is that you don't HAVE to call on them, they are just there. Incidentally, these three hardly know each other, if at all!
One of my oldest friends, who I hadn't seen in years, drove up from New Orleans when he heard about my wife's illness. He offered to pay the bills! (Fortunately we have good insurance and I think we can handle the rest.)
My friend HankB is another who is always there no matter what. No questions asked.
In addition to those, some of my best friends ARE people I've met here at SZ. I'm sure Gary Diamond would jump in his old van with the new GPS and drive down here if the situation warranted. DNJ and I have become very close, considering we've never met!
Uncle Dave has dropped me now that he is in love again.
Then there's Boo, and TomC, both of whom have done us the honor of visiting here. To name all those on SZ with whom I've built good and meaningful relationships wouldn't be fair, because I would surely leave somebody out, but they would include Scott, Eddie, SemiLive (Bill), Fran, Manual, Tony W., Denny. . .
I'm glad you started this topic, because it makes us stop and think about how lucky we are!
DonM

The most important thing...is being a good friend...the rest will take care of itself.

In my opinion, a good friend will never ask
if I do this for you, what will you do for me
it's about being there for each other with out asking what about me....I do thing for folks for the love of helping....some of us
just have that makeup that we have to help
others....think of a good friend as someone
close enough to you to be a part of your family whether it an extended family or real.
A perfect example would be this forum, we are all family here even the folks that don't want to admit it...I would do what ever I could to help another member of this forum as if they were family because we are.
Friends never put a price on friendship....
Friends never put demands on friendship....
Friends never ignore a friends plea for help.
Remember the song by Dion Warwick?????
In the good times, in the bad times, That's
what FRIENDS ARE FOR. Friends stick together.
Your Friend, Tony Rome

[This message has been edited by Tony Rome (edited 04-14-2005).]

i agree with a lot of what you say,after all you help people who you consider to be friends,you are the friend,you are making people feel that you are a nice person cause you are helping them,thats how friendships are made,but true friendship is a two way thing,otherwise it becomes an aquaintance,(many years ago i was asked if i would do a charity show and at the end i was given a poem which said ,,,,,when a person gives money he gives a part of his wealth ,when a person gives his time he gives a part of himself)i don,t know who wrote it but it was a nice gesture,now that shows me that i was appreciated,cause some one had done something FOR ME, mike

I agree with Don. The true test of friendship is not having to ask. If necessary, I would have no qualms about jumping in the van and heading south to help Don, heading north to help Donny, Dave or Fran, or in any direction to help someone in need.

Obviously, my primary responsibility is to my immediate family. However, there has been a growing number of individuals on this and other forums that I also consider family. While they're not blood relatives, by and large they are wonderful people that I try to keep in touch with regularly. That's what friends do. They just call or write to see how you're doing. They make that extra effort to communicate.

You cannot buy friendship. True friends can't be bought. It's something you have to earn, and it's a two-way street. Unfortunately, in today's ME NOW world, true friendships are few and far between.

Cheers,

Gary

gary,what you say mirrors my thoughts,i have found that since i have been a member of this site(1991) i have made lots of friends,(look at the people who have responded, all of my friends)i even said many times in the past that we are like a (distant)family,but this is in the forum,when i was talking about LOCAL friends Mr Ed was close with(his quote, I think people get wrapped up or overwhelmed in their day to day anxieties and they never get around to looking outward....)i would like to hear from our members ,how many true friends they have,mike