Thanks, Blondie! I have had friends in all those categories. I remember a teacher I had in 8th grade say once to my class, "If you have three close friends in your ENTIRE life, you are extremely fortunate!" His definition of close was someone who accepted you completely and if you called them in the middle of the night with your car broke down 100 miles away, they wouldn't ask questions. They would throw on their robe and drive to help you. Of course, being 13 I didn't really understand the implications of what he was saying. I just rolled my eyes. I would agree mostly with him now. I just had another memory flash back. There was a JW women that worked in the office I supervised. She was aware of my former JW affiliation. Every once in a while, she would try to sell me the advantages of being a JW. Her pitch was that she could go ANYWHERE there were JWs and would automatically have a network of friends. Ah, but I had remembered what my 8th grade teacher had said. I asked her if they were true "close" friends and went on to describe what a close friend was. I especially emphasized the "acceptance" part. She got real quiet and changed the subject. Andee
Edited by - BeautifulGarbage on 24 August 2002 12:9:39