what is a friend?

[Riverrat]

With me it is the same, I have family, people I hang out with once in awhile, but not true friends. My friend is my wife. The one other person that I would call a true friend moved away a few years ago, we are no longer in touch and to tell the truth, the last time we met we had very little in common anymore.
I have tried the social avenue, but really prefer just to stay in my on little area and work on my land. I have been burned more then once by so called friends, and in the process have come to rely on me. Maybe I am a social mis-fit, not real sure, but if that is the case, then so be it....I am happy as I am.

[tsitenha]

To me what best expresses a friend is someone who through collective experiences has made it their goal in life to look out for your best interest even to the point of self sacrifice, equally important is the reverse concern on your part.
Sometime a friend will let you fail so you can grow up but will be there to restart you on your way.
Friends recognize each others faults but still hang in when it goes bad.

maybe not expressed in the right words, but the sentiment is genuine

[trax]

Well that was expressed quite well for a "cold heartless breed" I'd kind of have to agree with it, you know from one cold heartless breed to another.

[tsitenha]

I got a friend like that.
Drove me down to Toronto for an operation, 50% death rate prognosis.
Said if I died, I could come back in the trunk in a trash bag, so I wouldn't smell up the car.
What a man

[trax]

well y'know...a friend is someone who will help you move, a real friend is someone who will help you move bodies...

[wareagle69]

wareagle69, would yo call "Bow" a friend or an acquaintance?

acquaintance

[BraggSurvivor]

Defiantly??LOL.

I don't care how much your friend weigh Bragg,what really matters,or should matter,is if Bragg lost everything,for whatever the reason how many of those will still come around when you have nothing left to give of but yoursef,?? You may very well be surprised.

I've sifted through those friends Nell, I very well know who's got my back. I have a large circle of friends, and we all rely on each other whole heartily when the chips are down. It's just a given. My friends come from all walks of life, business men, bikers, carpenters, banker and even a plumber. We ride, play poker, ATV, hunt, smoke cigars, camp and drink. We make it a point to get together at least once a month or more. Four of my six buds go back as far as grade/high school.

When I'm sick, go on holidays or need to deal with family/business matters my friends are lined up to look after my animals and home. I never have to ask and I do the same for them. We make it a point to serve each other as we know thats just what friends do for each other.

[wildWoman]

We find it hard with our not so usual lifestyle to meet new people and make new friends, because we don't get out that often, and when we do we run around like crazy chickens, doing shopping, going to appointments and hanging out with the friends we already have. We would love to find a kindred soul or two who lives a similar lifestyle but so far, all the other people we know who live in the bush are either just there to make money from it or such die-hard extreme rednecks that the only thing we can agree upon is the weather. Sadly, most greenies seem to be too attached to their Starbucks megalopa latte frappucrappo to go beyond weekend warrior status.
I have my very best friend of 20 years who I know I can rely on no matter what life throws at me and vice versa. She lives a "normal" life and can't relate that much to my life out here but has visited often enough and loves the woods enough to at least understand the passion I have for it.
And other than that, we have a set of rather geriatric friends in town, aging hippies, who for a while all lived out in the bush and get a sparkle in their eyes when we tell our endless moose and snow stories (which after a while make most other people yawn).
Human friends are the people I dearly and fervently love, and animal friends are the ones I love without all the demands I place on people. I couldn't do without either.

[trax]

Sadly, most greenies seem to be too attached to their Starbucks megalopa latte frappucrappo to go beyond weekend warrior status.

...that's brilliant, I love that. That there is good writing people I don't care who you are,that's funny stuff.

[Sarge47]

Where do people go who are banished from this forum....? INTERNET pergourtory......?

How would I know & why would I care? Guess i'm just the "anti-social type."

[klkak]

There are two things I know about friends and friendship.

1. To have a friend you have to be a friend.

2. A friend is someone who knows everything there is to know about you and yet loves you anyway.

[bulrush]

Rick says it well, friends come and go over your lifetime. At least they have for me.

Try to hang out with people with similar interests. Or be alone. It's not a crime to value "thinkin time".

Being a loner is just another word for introvert. An interovert is someone who thinks a lot about things, and analyzes them, trying to really understand a topic or situation. It's not necessarily a bad thing.

In America today if you value personal responsibility, preparedness, true friendship with action, then you are a bit of an oddball, or a minority. Minorities are often labeled "misfits".

I'm happy not to be a part of the entitlista crowd that values entitlements, huge consumer debt, short-sightedness, material goods, and "gimme mine before it's all gone". They try to fill that hole in their soul with material things, and they wonder why it doesn't work.

Because I stick to what I think is right (without trying to convert others) I consider myself a leader, not a "sheeple".

[crashdive123]

Very nicely said Bulrush.

[Ole WV Coot]

Second that also.

[Rick]

I'm tickled to death to be labeled a "sheeple". I wear it as a badge of distinction. Sort of like the term Geek a few years ago.

[Rick]

I am your friend.
This i can say without any doubt.
I am your friend because i have decided to be your friend.
At least until I decide not to be.

[FVR]

A friend is one that will get out of bed at 0200 and bail you out of jail.

A real friend is your buddy sitting next to you.

[Sarge47]

I think that friendships develop between certain people, oft-times by shared experiences. Maybe by a life-time of close association. I have a friend who claimed I was his "best friend". I don't know why, I never went out of my way to get that title. I just listened to him when he talked without putting him down, & tried to be there for him if he needed any help. At the time he was going through a bad divorce after 24 years of marriage, & needed somebody to listen. I didn't mind, being hard-of-hearing and all. A few years ago he met a different woman whom he married; & she's there for him. I hope she's now his "best friend."

War can also bond two people together, like nothing else. The movie: "Rescue Dawn" does a great job showing that. I remember when my cousin got out of the Marine Corps. He related a story that shows what I'm talking about. Before going to Viet Nam he had a member of his platoon he couldn't stand. They never got along at all. Then, in the jungle, he found himself pinned down by enemy fire & this guy pulled his fat out of the fire. They became solid buddies, almost like brothers; closer maybe, since his older brother was gay & they didn't get along. There were 5 other guys that became a part of this solid group, & all got home safely, without ever being injured or shot. After that, he never tried to re-establish contact with any of them; just crawled into a bottle or did drugs until he was just a shell of the person he used to be. He died 6 years ago. He was my age at the time. He wouldn't talk to family about his problems, but I can't help wondering if his friend(s) could have helped.

[sh4d0wm4573ri7]

Friends ahh yes a friend is one whom borrows your tools and your wife and never brings back the tools ..... I'am easy going get along with all I come to meet, as far as friends well I've met maybe 6 people I'd actually call real friends the rest well I'm sure you all know the rest of the story

[klkak]

Speaking of friends. What happened to TrapperRick? I noticed his post have been deleted and he ain't been around in awhile. Did someone pi$$ in his Cheerios then run him off?