Friends, Miscreants, Reprobates...Lend Me Your Ears

Man I have some good friends in this world. People who are so good that they make me forget about the dark side of humanity. It’s probably the reason that I don’t see through scams or expect to be deceived by people – my friends have spoiled me. That, however, is a small price to pay for a lifetime of amazing, funny, supportive people who know exactly who and what I am and love me for it.

And in spite of it.

I know people who, if my husband and I are ever in a fatal car accident, will not only make sure that my kids are OK – forever – but on the way to the morgue, will stop at our house and retrieve anything that we wouldn’t want our families or the authorities to find.

Not that we have anything like that.

And if it’s not fatal, I have people who will come to the hospital and pluck my chin hairs while I’m in a coma. They will make sure that the fundraising sight we set up to cover my medical bills use only the most attractive pictures of me. No double chins. No awkward camera angles. No panoramic ass shots.

And if I kill someone, I have friends who will not help me hide the body (because I wouldn’t expect them to take responsibility for such a thing) but will help me face what I did and testify at my trial. They will know what the victim must have done to provoke me. Because they have seen me at my angriest and know that it is only coffee and running that has protected some miscreants up to this point.

And they will bring me Insomnia Cookies in prison because they will also know that in prison, I will no longer care about Wheat Belly or gut bacteria or getting fat.

But seriously, my friends are the best and they’ve been placed in my path over and over in different cities and jobs and schools and every other circumstance in which I find myself. They cry and pray and light candles when things are bad. They laugh and dance and sing with me when things are good. And they know – sometimes before me – when things are going to turn in either of those directions.

They aren’t all one religion or one race or one socioeconomic class. They aren’t all liberal or all conservative. They are just good. And if I have them…and you have them…and they have them…and they aren’t all the same, doesn’t that just make us a giant network of regular folks doing the best we can? Just taking care of our people who are taking care of their people who are taking care of other people…not perfectly, but well enough?

Let’s hold onto our people, my friends, and not let hate-spewing, single-minded, self-serving reprobates who happen to have a microphone and nice clothes jack with our networks.

That’s a job best left to Comcast and AT&T.

Just a thought.