Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget...

We finish out a great week, our first, with a group of friends most of whom have known each other the better part of 30 years, including yours truly, Noelle and Michelle. 

WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ALL STILL FRIENDS? 
"It's rare. I think we're blessed. We're luckier than most people. Most people don't get this ever, and don't even know what it is or understand it."
"I'm not religious, but I do think our souls are energies...we keep coming back and I think that every time we come back we wind up with the same group of people again and again and again. We've all known each other a hundred times. Otherwise, we wouldn't be so drawn to each other for so long."


We couldn't agree more. 

WAS THERE EVER A TIME THAT SOMEONE WAS THERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THEM TO BE?

"When my mom died. That was one of the most horrific times of my life...There was this moment when I could barely remember what was going on around me, and I can remember crawling upstairs in my house and curling up in a ball just crying... not wanting anyone to know where I was. There are times in your life where you don't talk to your closest friends for a while but then there are moments when you're laying, crying, not knowing how to handle the next minute, let alone the next day, and your best friend shows up. And that's what is friendship. That's what does it. That's what gets you through. And I was surprised, not because I was surprised that she showed up, but because there had been such an absence and then there she was. There was that moment of complete and utter comfort........and then she scrubbed my bathroom floor."

HOW HAS A FRIEND REALLY DISAPPOINTED YOU? 
"Been lied to."
"Got my girlfriend pregnant."
"Didn't tell me someone was cheating on me."
"Contributed to me being in jail."
"Dying."

HOW DO YOU HANDLE IT WHEN SOMEONE HAS DISAPPOINTED YOU? ARE YOU QUICK TO FORGIVE THEM?
"It all depends on if they really meant it. On how it went down, I guess."
"I think at this point in my life it's different than how I would've handled it 10 years ago."

WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU ABSOLUTELY NEVER SPEAK TO SOMEONE AGAIN?
"If someone tried to hook up with my girlfriend. That's a no no."
"If you hurt my family."
"Intentionally hurting me."

Join the conversation. Have you ever been disappointed by a friend? Did you forgive them? 

HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO THINK OF YOU?
"That they can rely on me when they need me and that I've been loyal to them. Hopefully that I've made them laugh somewhere along the way, and did something kind for them." 

"That no matter what the circumstance, you can count on me.  I may not show up for everything and I may be a little late, but in the dire circumstances that we really need each other, we're there."

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WOULD BE UNFORGIVABLE TO YOU?
"If they did something to my children."

"I've pretty much forgiven masses of wrong doing.... My godfather, who passed away, brought this psycho lady he was dating around my daughter. He didn't explain to me quite the extent of how nuts she was and convinced me she was safe and fine and that I could run to the store real quick and come back. And I did, foolishly. She robbed my house while I was gone- with my daughter there. She didn't touch her but I realized at some point that this woman was an addict and I left her with my child. And that this man whom I trusted with my life didn't explain to me the extent of what she was really about. And I never forgave him."

DO YOU REGRET THAT?
"I do. Immensely. He would write me letters on a monthly basis if not more frequently and letters to my daughter. He died a really painful and horrible death and I wasn't there at all for the last couple years of his life. I didn't forgive him and I have a lot of guilt about that." 

DO YOU FORGIVE HIM NOW?
"I do. He was in a bad place himself and I couldn't let it go. I have tremendous guilt about that. But you know, I'm Jewish." 

*Join the conversation. Has a friend ever done something to you that you felt was unforgivable?*

WHAT IS THE NICEST THING A FRIEND HAS EVER DONE FOR YOU?
"Somebody's lied for me."
"Bailed me out of jail." 
"Accepted me for my flaws." 
"Someone once put my name on a marquee for my birthday. That was very cool." 
"...Forgiven me for all the bad things I've done." 
"...The last time I moved my house. It was the coolest thing ever. I went on Facebook and everyone showed up, like 17 people, and it was the fastest move ever. We were a human conveyer belt. It was done in like two hours. My entire house. Everyone just showed up."
"At the '92 spectrum [Dead] shows, nobody got high in the same section I was in. Well, for the first two nights.


*** Join the conversation. What is the nicest thing a friend has ever done for you? ***

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES YOUR FRIENDSHIP SO SPECIAL?
"We share years of experiences. Whether we experienced them the same or differently, there are all these years and bonds. Watching each other grow, while at the same time going in our own directions but never parting ways."
"Acceptance. Loyalty. It's a willingness to tell each other when you've done something wrong. It's genuinely caring about what happens to one another."
 "It's a matter of feeling comfortable. Of saying who you really are, being yourself and not having to change that or pretend to be something that you're not and know that it's authentic."

Every week One, unified is discovering the common threads that people from all walks of life share...

Friends. Where would we be without them? 
It's been said that friends make the good times better and the hard times easier. A good friend is there to share your joys and wipe your tears. Sometimes, they know us better than we know ourselves. Your closest friends aren't just people to run around with. They are life's mirrors. They reflect back to us the best parts of us and the worst parts too, and that is why we need them as much as we do. 

Whether you've known each other forever and have never left one another's side, or whether distance and time stands between you, true friends are always close at hand. It's the people who you know that when the going gets rough, really really rough, will find a way to be there. They can't always make it okay, but they can help you to understand that someday, some way, it will all be okay again. It's the people who stand by your side and revel in your successes, never jealous or scornful. It's the ones who couldn't be happier for your joys than if they were joys of their own. It's the first people who we want to call when we get a new job, or a new love, or when our heart has been broken.

Almost everyone has had at least one true good friend. Even those in the darkest depths of despair have most likely had someone, at some time in their life, that they loved and trusted like family despite no bond of blood. Some people believe that we make friends with certain people because our souls recognize in them something special, something that connects with what is deep inside of us. Sometimes we only find one person like that in our entire lifetime, a soulmate some might call them. Sometimes we are lucky enough to meet several of these people as we walk life's path. They may come in and out of our lives. They may touch us for a brief time and then move on. But no matter what the nature of our friendship's may be, they are relationships like no other. They help shape us, they guide us, they help make us who we are. 

So how do we meet them? How do we make those connections? And what do they mean to our lives? We've spent some time connecting with people this week so that we could find out. Does friendship mean the same to you as it does to them? Did the people we met feel like they have the kind of friendships that stand the test of time? Do you? Join us all this week and meet those we spoke with. Together we will see if there are any common threads between us and them....

Friendships.  Just one thing that makes us One, unified.