~Friends Forever (Or until I cant stand you anymore...)~

With friends like mine, who needs enemies...?

I have a million friends.  Ok, maybe a couple hundred. Truth? I count 3 or 4 good ones.  Can I really count on the 3 or 4?  Not really. Can they count on me?  Absolutely. I take pride in being counted on. Incidently, I'm not sure my Facebook friends can be counted at all. After all, I dont really know most of them.  

Facebook, for me, seems to be more like a ficticous score card when it comes to having friends.  I mean really, can someone maintain true, quality  friendship requirements with 2000 friends? Even 100?

Back to my unaccountable 3 or 4 friends.  I'm not sure 'bout anyone else, but my little bevy of friends, all separate from each other, tend to irritate me as if they held a corporate meeting to decides ways and means to piss me off. Their main and collective platform for this is not being truthful to themselves. When and if they possess this annoying tendency, friendship harmony for me, becomes an inner struggle of patience and I might add, fighting back the strong desire to choke the snot out of them.

Now, before you say:  "Gee Monte, sounds like you just need some new friends..." or "Oh Monte, you demand to much of your friends..." or the 'ol friend standard: "A person can be measured by how many friends he has..." Stop.  Please, just stop.  I say: " While strangers only have the opportunity to take advantage of you once, friends can be relentless.  There, I said it.

I know my problem.  I'm getting older.  As such, I demand more in the form of "just the basics" from my friends. Truth, sincerity, honor, reliability to name a few. Not only  to me, but to themselves as well. And I reckon, I do want to be measured by the quality of my friends.  But not by others.  For me. Why?  Because when I see a friend, I need to know that he or she is my friend because of personal qualities that I also bring to the table. I guess I just need to feel good about myself. 

So, here's my solution.  Even though I'm on the down hill side of life, my friendship standards will remain high.  I will not be afraid to say to a friend: "Friend, you suck, and I want you off my friendship bus..." simply because I fear someone at my ultimate passing whispering to a fellow griever: "Damn, ol Monte didnt have a lot of friends, did he?" And my life being on the short side, I will not fear losing those friends I have carried and coddled over the years.  In fact, I'm removing the seniority clause from my friendship plan.  If you havent gotten the true friend concept by now, I cant help you.

Friendship Disclaimer: I'm not angry, depressed, drunk or medicated.  I just prefer, no, I demand and will not accept anything less...than true friends. 
Monte Walsh ~ Arizona Territory 2011
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