When I think of someone, besides my wife or siblings or collegial relationships, who I would consider a friend, only a couple people come to mind, and they are old college buddies who live halfway across the country. There aren’t many people in my life who fit in the category of friend, but those who do, it seems, have always accepted me for who I am, and we still make the occasional effort to keep in touch and visit.
I have a number of acquaintances by virtue of serving as a pastor in a couple of congregations, none of whom I’d consider a friend or confidant, but kind and decent people, just the same, with whom I golf or can still strike up an occasional conversation.
Now that I think about it, the only true, through-thick-and-thin, brutally honest friendship I’ve had in my life was probably with a classmate throughout most of the grade school years, but we drifted apart during the college years and after. Life took us in different directions.
3 Cents' 