Various Things

Everyone has friends.  But are they really the kinds of friends you think they are?  In my estimation, there are a couple of different kinds of friends.  

The best kind is obviously the “BFF” kind.  You know what I’m talking about.  You can not talk to them for days or weeks, and when you see them again, it’s like you just got done talking to them about 15 minutes ago. Things never get boring with a BFF because you have a lot in common - both from your likes and dislikes to the wealth of common experiences that you share.  But it’s more than just having fun together.  It’s about “having each other’s back” and watching out for each other any time the need arises.  A BFF kind of friend will always be there when you need a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on - that’s for the ladies out there because we all know real men don’t cry  A BFF is the kind of friend that you ask to take care of your family if something should ever happen to you, or bail you out of jail no questions asked (until later that is).

The next kind of friend is a good friend.  They will always welcome you into their house for a football game, or invite you to the Rockets game if none of their BFFs are available (that’s another priviledge BFFs get - tickets).  These are - in my opinion - the most common kind of friend.  Good neighbors usually fall into this category.  I have a couple of these myself.  Really good guys.  I have some good friends in Scouting too.  Social friends you might call them.  You don’t always ask them to hang out like BFFs but you usually end up at the same places because you do the same kinds of things.  It’s really funny when some of your good friends end up doing the same kinds of social gatherings and you didn’t know they were.  Like if you joined the local ToastMasters club and found one of your neighbors used to be in the debate team in high school and decided to join totally independently of your decision.  

Then there are the “aquaintance friends” - the folks you are always cordial to when you see them, but you typically only see them at the grocery store, or at work.  A good waiter usually turns into this kind of friend.  Some folks wouldn’t call a waiter a friend.  Maybe I’m a bit loose in my definition of a friend, but again, there are different levels.  Co-Workers usually fall into this kind of friend category if they are not in your local work-group but you deal with them a lot.  I recently hooked back up with an “acquaintance” that got let go from HP about 3 months ago.  He’s on the right coast of the US and I found out he was a member of LinkedIn as I am.  This kind of friend is the kind of friend that you usually wouldn’t mind having as a “good” friend, but circumstances prevent it (usually because they live in a different part of town from you and you just see each other at work). 

Family can be friends too.  So can spouses.  I know my wife is my bestest friend.  That’s the name usually given (by me at least) to the best, closest, “do anything for them at all - no questions asked, no matter the time of day” friend that you could possibly have.  El Friendo Uno (I know, I don’t speak Spanish).  How many friends would you lay down your life for?  Right now, I have 1 - my wife.  

There are other types of friends.  You may also think I’m too liberal spreading the word too thinly - but that’s your opinion.  Make your own blog and define what you think a friend is.  

One thing you may have noticed about my list is the kinds of friends that military guys and police and fireman are to each other.  I don’t know if you can ever truly understand the bond that those guys (and gals) have unless you are one.  I have been to a police funeral, and a couple military funerals (not trying to be morbid but it’s the only place this kind of bond is really ever put on public display usually) and the overwhelming sense of loyalty to the men and women that wore the badge or were in the service with each other is something that was truly palpable.  It is something that you will truly never forget and is a wonder to see.

Everyone needs a webpage.  This is mine.  Well it’s my blog anyway.  I’m going to eventually make this be the main page on my site, but for now, it’s not.  This is the first post.  I decided to dedicate this first post to my daughter and son.  Wonderful kids, but like all parents I sometimes just wanna strangle them.  You know what I mean.  

They can be so sweet, and so funny sometimes, but then, the monster comes out and you just wanna strangle them.  But you know you probably wouldn’t get away with it, so you don’t.  Then you realize that you probably would be totally lost without them so you feel guity about feeling the way you did a few minutes ago.  

If you are like me, and have kids that match this description, do not feel alone.  Just take a breath and remember that you love them more than life itself.  The next time your 9 year old says something that makes you laugh reall loud from the bottoms of your toes you’ll be happy that you have them in your life.  

For example, on the way back home from dinner tonight, my daughter was telling me that she just really doesn’t like the kid sitting next to her because he apparently thinks he’s Carlos Mencia and always does that annoying “De-de-deeee” thing to her and that today he called her retarded.  While I was kind of upset about that, she followed it up with “I usually just ignore him, dad, but today I just put my foot down and told the teacher.” 

Now this might not seem all that funny to you, but when your 9-year old says something that grown up, with the seriousness on her face that she did, you would laugh too.  They just grow up too fast.  Where’d my baby go?

And of course my son, being 12, is too cool or busy or whatever to do stuff with us.  So he missed out on a fun time to and from the restaurant.  Next time he’ll probably go.  Can’t cut the cord quite that fast I think.

So, I’ll close this post, and go do some dad stuff.  There’s apparently a bug in the tub.  *sigh*

Ok.  So that’s all.

Doc