Loyalty - May I be the kind of person my dog thinks I am!
In my life, I was blessed with two wonderful goldens in succession- they were both loyal; they were everything that you could wish for from a friend; Marsi had the most intelligence. Deedee had charm, but, when a leaf fell on the lawn, she ran away in fear. She seemed to be afraid of her shadow! I was intriguing to me what different personalities these two dogs had. Both were loyal - constantly. I never worried about that. (The above picture is not her picture. Somehow, I have lost her picture - which is a shame since she was the model for the golden on the Alpo dog food can. I lived with a star (never an easy thing, but they are a blessing regardless of their awesome natural beauty!
I have always had a thing about loyalty. I try (but do not always succeed to be loyal to a fault. I think that I am, but a close friend suggested that I may be overstating my case - which hurt - so I have discarded that person as a friend. Like many people, I am looking for mindless sycophants! Not really - but unadulterated praise would be great to have. (That could get tiresome, but some days, I am willing to risk it.) I generally believe that I am a loyal friend, a darn loyal friend. . For me, loyalty to my friends is pretty much given unconditionally. My study of sociology tells me that this comes from being born in Chicago. Makes as much sense as anything else. As my late and dear friend, Andrew Greeley, remarked once, people will never understand Chicagoans without knowing this simple fact. They are loyal. Greeley expressed this with his usual tentative approach: "people from Chicago are never ever disloyal to their friends." He was right on this and so many other things.
I am just dumbfounded when people who are close friends are just disloyal. It does not happen often, but often enough. Once is too much. *How's that for a balanced and forgiving approach to life. Sigh, well, I keep trying.
I am so taken aback when someone speaks to me about a person who is apparently a really close friend- and they just trash the person. I almost feel like telling the other person - be careful, that person is nothing more than a fair-weather friend. I have never done this - but wonder whether I should. I have always resisted the temptation. It does not seem right to me. But it still stinks. You have to be able to trust your friends - that is part of being a friend. Just saying! That is enough pontificating for one post.
To have a friend is a precious gift. Why destroy it if you cannot keep your mouth shut.
This is why I love dogs. They are loyal in-season and out-season. Human beings are funny. Dogs are serious. I can live with this arrangement in the world.
I'm starting to fade a little now. So enough for now. Pray in thanks for your friends who accept you unconditionally. They are precious and beyond all measure. Don't take them for granted. Ever.
The pandemic caused me to lose contact with some great friends. I'm not going to pursue that situation - and re-establish valuable connections. Hope they are willing.
The Irish have the same thought but a little less elegant: You only know who your true friends are - when the light goes out in the pub.