>> People in the US use the word "friend" very loosely, just like the word "love."
I couldn't agree more, Blondie.
Being df'd helped me understand the true meaning of friendship and what a friend really is. I realized that at the hall I didn't really have any. Of course, by it's very nature the atmosphere inside the WTS makes the having of real friends impossible since maintaining the faade of unity forces people to never fully reveal who they are, and that's an essential element in genuine friendship.
I use "friend" very sparingly the older I get, mainly because of what you've already said here about close (real) friends (and all the other categories). I see a friend as one who knows the real you because over time you have trusted them enough to show them the real you... and as they have come to know the real you they have kept on loving you just the same. Based on those criteria, I guess I'm lucky because I have several close friends, including most of my siblings. Not surprisingly, none of my friends are dubs.
Nice thread.