They say bad things happen to good people, they are usually right about that.
They also say the good die young and so on.
They may also be right about that as well.
I worry more about my standing in that area with each passing year.
The thing that remains constant though, of course, from my perspective, is that there is never a better test of a person than bad times.
“It is second only to how well a person deals with success.” as Abe Lincoln once said. In either case, the true test of one’s friends is how well ‘they’ handle that in your life. I count myself extremely lucky in this arena.
Nothing is more disturbing to me than the ebb and flow of those who merely judge you by your position or ability to affect their lives. Friendships built on gain and advancement is the preverbal ‘house built on sand.’
The person who shakes your hand on a day when you live in the corner office is sometimes the first to come looking for a chair or that potted plant when you move on.
There are those ‘who will now look to see who will be there next’ and how best to introduce themselves. I believe the Eagles said it best in their tune “New Kid in Town”
A few years back, I ran into some “friends” that I had known from my former marriage. Divorce at times has the affect of making some folks think they must choose between the two parties.
I found out that there was minor shifting on the friendship bus then. In my conversation with my “old buddies,” I was amazed at the stories about me. I was amused when one said, “I think we picked the wrong side.” I was unaware that friendship had sides.
On the work side, I once had a Purchasing Manager tell me he had heard all about my antics, and that was why he did not trust me. When pressed, he explained that he knew about the time I flew to Boise, Idaho and used an axe to knock down a motel door. I guess I then took a set of keys away from a trucker and stole his semi to deliver a shipment to my work place.
Well, then there was me in an airplane…I think not.
The point here is simple.
Measure what you hear and never underestimate the beauty of loyalty.
