Rummaging through a drawer filled with items given to me as so-called gifts of friendship, I came across a miniture book titled, "Best Friends Forever."
I smiled for a minute (reflecting on the mood I was in when I received that book), and began to read a few pages. One page seemed to sum up the past several months in my life - It was supposedly a quote by Oprah Winfrey - It read: "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."
Well, let me tell you, those alleged limo riders hit the ground running when my "limo" broke down. The bright side to the situation is that, I will get a tow to a repair shop out there somewhere that will fix my "limo," and then I'll trade the refurbished model in for a brand new model and always remember who my "friends" WERE.
Not so much to show them anything, but to know that I made it down the highway, regardless. Oh yeah, I might even give one of them a lift to the shop one day if they either run out of gas or their car breaks down.
Now, as for the questions of Friendship? What's it to you?
For me, it means doing what you can to help lift someone up; only bringing up prior incidents if you're trying them remember how far they've come; never dissing them in public; and being thankful that God sent you someone who you can share some of life's experiences with, without the fear of that person telling the whole world. I have other points on friendship, but I suppose most of all, I can truthfully say, I have been there for others even when it meant facing ridicule from those who couldn't understand my reason for standing by someone.
Those same people are some of those who hit the ground running when things got rough, but I don't regret it because I know in my heart that I did practice what I preached, and still do.
I believe if you're going to be a friend, be a friend, not a coward hidding behind a cloud of selfishness and/or ego.
So people, I'll put the questions to you - Friendship? What's it to you?
Jane L. Wilson
Posted By: Jane L. Wilson
Thursday, April 14th 2005 at 2:29PM
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