So much for subtlety!

[elfs]

Wow. I feel like Sally Field.

Y'know, as I was writing my lj entry yesterday, it occurred to me that I should re-write "Who are all you people?" to read, "Who are all those people," thus putting the question into the rhetorical form and not really requesting an answer.

Well, I seem to have gotten an answer anyway. From nearly a quarter of the people who are watching this. There were a few "I count you as a friend, don't you count me as one too?" queries, and to that I can only answer, "A friend is someone I would call after waking up in bed with either a dead girl or a live sheep."

Make of that what you will.

I like a lot of you, especially those of you I know in the real world. But as I've gotten older and wiser the nember of people I consider friends has grown smaller and more cautious.

I'll try and respond one at a time, but... wow. Thank you, all of you.

Comments

[mouser.livejournal.com]

"A friend is someone I would call after waking up in bed with either a dead girl or a live sheep."

1. Friends help friends.


2. Good friends help friends move.


3. REALLY good friends help friends move bodies.

[damiana-swan.livejournal.com]

I begin to understand why it would seem disconcerting. Unfortunately, LJ doesn't have separate categories for "acquaintences" and "people I've never met but who seem interesting", let alone "people who came across me somehow and added me out of the blue". You probably don't need to stress over wondering how many of those people actually expect friendship from you--I suspect that the answer is, about the same number as you actually consider to be real friends. What they do expect .... well, you'll need to ask them if you want to know, won't you?

[wendor.livejournal.com]

I figured it was kind of rhetorical, but mainly didn't bother answering there because you know who I am and probably figured out that I read your LJ because it's easier and less intrusive than calling or e-mailing you and Omaha all the time asking "So, what's new?"

[erisiansaint]

Well, I don't consider you a friend, as such, but I've been hearing about you and omahas for so many years that you almost seem like one of the extended family.

And I find the day to day stuff quite interesting, thanks, I like knowing how people live their lives. And make bread. (That's what did it for me. I kept coming in and reading about troubles with baking bread. I will get hooked on food posts, every time. Comes either of reading too much Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child, or from growing up Jewish, take your pick.)

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Well, there is that. LJ makes it possible to keep up with the "so what's new in your life" without have to ask too often. The trouble I see is that that kind of question is essential to human interaction; it's a way of passing time face-to-face. If you short that out, there's a lot of awkward silence where the human brain insists, "There should be something going on here." I wonder if that's a problem or not.

[wendor.livejournal.com]

I completely agree that kind of question is important for normal face-to-face interaction and that bypassing it can make things awkward.

However in cases like ours, where face-to-face time is so rare, the exact opposite problem can occur. Remember how awkward it was last March when we tried to condense a couple of years worth of life into "so, what's new?"

Keeping up with your journal and Omaha's (don't know if you guys read mine or not) will hopefully mean that the next time we see each other face to face (late April?) we can interact without having to start with year long personal history lessons.

Hope that makes sense.

Now I just have to finally figure out (and remember) the mapping between kids/cat names you use here and real names. (I'm pretty sure the cat didn't burn her hand on the stove and it wasn't either kid that peed on your bed)

Friends

[slutdiary.livejournal.com]

I don't like to rank friends as private, corporal, sergeant, captain, and so forth.

You're a friend, welcome at my table as I've eaten at yours.

You trusted me to be your youngest daughter's first baby sitter and you entrust me with bringing your wife home safely. If I had either a daughter or a wife I'd sure do the same.

I don't know if it's a commentary on you, me, or us, that I do think you would call me if you woke up with either a dead girl or a live sheep or both....





Peter