A Friendly Friday Five

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it? I honestly don't think that I've ever had one. Which probably makes me sound more pitiful that I actually am... The thing is, to me, the term "best friend" has always had a certain mystique about it. As a child, television presented me with this mythos of the "best friend" as a sort of platonic soulmate, someone unconditionally loyal, someone so close they most likely knew you better than you did yourself. And me, hey, I was such a loner that all the way through 'til the end of high school, I figured I was doing well if I had somebody to sit with at lunch. I've gotten a lot more social since then, and these days I have a number of people I consider reasonably good friends, but the term "best friend" has to my mind always implied a special Sam-and-Frodo sort of closeness that I don't think I can really lay claim to.

2. Are you still in touch with this person? Well, my non-answer to the last question pretty much dictates a non-answer to this question, too.

3. Do you have a current close friend? That, of course, depends on how you define "close," but I'd say I've got at least a couple. There's an internet pal of mine I consider a very close friend despite the fact that I've only actually met him in person a handful of times. I feel like I can genuinely talk about absolutely anything with him, which has to count for a lot. And I've got a friend in Albuquerque who I talk to a lot, who's usually the first person I think of when I need someone to go to the movies or on a road trip with, and with whom I've weathered some pretty bad times (hers and mine) over the years.

4. How did you become friends with this person? The first guy I met through Phoenix APA, though we mostly got to know each other via e-mail. The second, I went to college with.

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why? There's another friend from college I keep drifting in and out of touch with. The "out" periods tend to last for years at a time, and I always feel guilty about them. When we do get in touch, we always really enjoy each other's company, but for some reason vague promises to "get together again real soon" and "drop by when I'm in town" never seem to materialize, alas.