Friendship LA style?!

Photo by Estevan Oriol

November 7th 2006

In this town the word friend seems to have a different meaning than it does elsewhere. Since I do not hail from here I have a different definition than most people in this city of lost souls. For me...you cannot choose your family but your friends are those you treat as family and have chosen to join you on your journey through life.
Friends come and go, sometimes through no fault of anyone...people simply grow apart or relationships change. Sometimes there is betrayal on either part that results in the demise of a friendship. Here it seems that friends come and go more quickly and the basis for them is much more about what someone can do for someone else than a real desire to grow together and progress in life.
People "befriend" those who can get them access, attention, further their careers, fund their habits, and essentially co-sign their sometimes inconscionable behavior. I can't fathom this. I chose my friends based on their abilty to inspire and educate me. I chose them because they have qualities that I admire and adore. I chose them because they make me want to be better than I am today and make me want to be the same for them.
[Trust (noun) reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.] This is one of the things I have found hardest to do after years in this town. I have seen too many abuse it and misuse it to such a degree that perhaps I am jaded. I have often likened myself to a shark...underwater they look so shiny and smooth but if you touch a shark's skin it will cut you. They are hydrodynamic and pretty to look at but not easy to get close to.
I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad one that I have thickened my skin and become more predator than prey? I just know that it is sad that there are too few "real" people in this town who are worthy of trust and know how to be a friend to someone. I am learning still who my real friends are and I thank God that I have them.
I am glad that I have reached a point in my life where I am attracting the kinds of friends that are reciprocal in my associations with them. I am grateful that I have those who are loyal and true. I am so happy that I can TRUST the people in my life right now.
My wish for everyone in this town who is a good person is that you find a group like mine and that you hold on for dear life. They are so few and far between. They are the family you choose and in the end they are all you have!
PS. If you are among my chosen few...I love you and appreciate you more than you could ever know.