Friendship

Friendship is not what we offer when the sun is shining, the money is flowing, health is vibrant, and life is good. Those times shared are merely sharing the good times. Real friendship shows itself when your friend needs counsel, is in trouble, needs some advice, needs a shoulder to lean on or maybe to cry on. Our friendship is most crucial during those times. Everything else is just convenience and proximity.

The lack of friendship, the prevalence of fair-weatheredness, is what disappoints me most about Anthony Weiner’s scandal. It’s as if Dems haven’t learned how to be real friends. Oh, not everybody, but far too many.  We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers and we're our reality checks and that requires our courage in honesty.  And it's sometimes inconvenient or uncomfortable.

Too many people we all know, also, don’t know what to say during a difficult moment so they say nothing at all. If I don’t know what to say when my friend needs my ear or some comfort, I will say just that. But I will try to be there with them during the difficult moments because sometimes all we need is to know someone is there and they care. That’s powerful and sometimes that's enough.