Friends

Friends
What are friends? That’s a loaded question; similar to how high is up. Each person you ask will have a different answer, in fact they may have several answers, I do. Friends come in many varieties, so you don’t have to choose just one. That’s right, you can many types of friends; close friends, best friends, casual friends, the list goes on and on. Some people say, “A stranger is a friend I have not met.” Those must be the most outgoing people on the planet. Others say, “I have no friends.” I fall somewhere in the middle probably towards the optimistic side, I hope anyway. I make friends easily, because to me an acquaintance is friend. I will talk freely to a stranger. I give easily of my time to others also, perhaps I’m closer to the “strangers are friends” than I realized. To me a friend is anyone who is not an enemy; that includes mostly everyone. I came from large family so being to get along with others was not an option.
I enjoy the company of many casual friends; I like to laugh and make others laugh as well. I often reach out to others, that’s what friends are for. I’d much rather provide a favor than ask for one.
Sometimes a friendship can sprout under the most unusual circumstances. While serving in Qatar (pronounced Cutter by some Ka Tar by others) I worked hand in hand with the Australian Air Force and British Air Force. The Aussies and the Brits, as they preferred to be called, reported directly to me, this made for a tenuous relationship. I shared my love their culture and few of my favorite jokes and we had an absolutely fantastic time during the worst of times. I respected their authority and they did the same for my obligation to report their progress. As soon as the mission essentials were ironed out, we shared stories and laughs.

My closest friends seem to be those I shared some of my worst times with. Close friends endure the toughest strain on their shared relationship. The saying, “We’ve been through a lot together “is the watch phase of lasting relationship. My assistant Crew Chief and I were preparing a B-52 for a bombing mission in Iraq, during the first Gulf War, when I noticed the team Munitions Loaders across the ramp, jump into their truck and speed away. I instinctively knew there serious trouble, quickly summoned Scott and shut off the electrical power to the airplane, and we cleared the area. Our friends had snapped a nose fuse off a 500 lb bomb and left, leaving Scott and I well within the blast zone!
Sometimes friends are brought together by coincidences; they seem to be inexorably linked. It’s the friend you just met, but you feel like you’ve been friends for eons. How can this be? It’s quite simple really, you have a lot in common, but you haven’t had a chance to fully realize just how much. It’s eerie and fun at the same time. Often the more that you know about the other person the more know about yourself. We often don’t see in ourselves what our mind doesn’t want us to, but we can see our traits in others.