Friendship

One of life's great tragedies is that we take for granted things in life that aught not be taken for granted. Friendship is a word that is thrown around so easily. What does it truly mean? Webster says it is a relationship between two people who are friends. Huh? There are so many levels of friendship. We have people we know that are nice and they are "friends". We have people that are kind of fun to go out with and hang out, they are "close friends". We have people that are on the short list, they can be called with no prior notice to do things  on the spur-of-the-moment, they are "special friends". Then there is the final group. This group fits all of the above categories, they know your secrets and your tendencies, they've seen you at your best, they have seen you at your worst. This group is called the "pajama friends". Why are they  called "pajama friends"? It's easy you write down on a piece of paper all the people you know that fall into any of those categories. If you are as popular as me, that list might have 30-40 people on it. Now you put a circle around the ones that you could call in the middle of the night to help you change a flat, bail you out of jail, help you find the lost dog, baby sit kids while you run to the ER and do all this while still in their jammies with messed up hair. They are "pajama friends" and you might have one of them, two if you're lucky. So back to the tragedy part, when you are lucky enough to get a "pajama friend" you don't take that for granted, because if you loose a "pajama friend" you can't just circle another name on your list, it just doesn't work that way.

On to a funny story:

Have you ever done something with out thinking it all the way through? Of course we all have, but this one takes the cake. Most of us have had the extreme pleasure of crossing paths with the little security guards that roam the street, circles and avenues of the gated communities. Where do these people come from? Do they aspire to become gated community security guards? Do they fail at other things and fall into this calling? Nobody knows for sure, but they are all the same where ever you live. So I am in one of these gated communities on business. I am at a residence looking at a possible construction project. My meeting is running long and I have another very important meeting in 15 minutes and I am 25 minutes away. I am going a little "speedy" on one of the winding roads on the way out, remember I'm late. I look in my rear view mirror and I am being pursued by one of those little Hyundai looking cars with yellow lights just a flashing. CRAP! I'm so late, I curse just a little bit. Nothing bad. I watch in my side mirror as the overweight guard oozes out of that little car. He hitches up his pants and starts walking my way. Now have you ever had one of those moments when 5 minutes worth of stuff happens in about 10 seconds. I look at my watch, I'm so late.  I think to myself, he's not even a "real" cop. This is going to take forever. What could he really do? There isn't a "gated community jail house" I take one more glance into my side mirror and I pull it into drive and gas it! No turning back now! The thing that I can remember the most is the view in my mirror of that guard bouncing in circles and trying get his radio off his fat belly. You could tell he had no prior training for this. So I am flying through this community and little Hyundais are popping out of culde sacs like ground hogs. I am in full panic mode and feel like I am in the "Grand Theft Auto" game. I have to get to the front gate, as I blow past the tennis courts it hits me that it's not like the front gate will just be wide open waiting for me to blow through. I haven't given this " running from the law thing" a whole bunch of thought. I round the last corner with 3 cars and a scooter behind me and a golf cart closing in from the side when what do I see? There "is" no front gate, it is off the hinges and sitting by the side of a welding truck. Hallelujah!!! I shoot out the gate and stop as I reach the city street. What will they do? Can they remain in hot pursuit? You know they want to. Heck they would have been firing on me if they had guns. But no, they hit the skids right at the gate like a dog with one of those electric collars, maybe they have those. I turn and head down the street adrenaline still pumping. What had I done? Was I a criminal now? Was the regular police looking for me? I make it to my meeting only 5 minutes late, but mentally spent. I have returned to that community and there was repercussions, but that is for another day. One of those "not thinking it all the way through stories".

Talk to you later.