BRFF

Happy Make a New Friend Day!

Did you ever make a friendship chain when you were a kid?

My childhood bestie, Susan, and I made ours from gum wrappers. Others used twine and ribbons. The chain was supposed to be made as tall (long) as your best friend. We had heard that, after the chain was complete, we were supposed to burn it and, if they burned all the way to the end without going out, that meant that our friendship would last forever. I’m not sure who told us the burning part, but our moms wouldn’t let us play with fire, so we didn’t put it to the test. But Susan and I are still friends today, so I guess it didn’t much matter.

We were childhood “besties” and the bond we’ve had since first grade has impacted my life to the point that just about all of the “besties” throughout my years have been named “Susan!” Weird, huh?

The cartoon above depicts my bestie running bud, Sue who lives in Vieques, Puerto Rico. On the trail, Sue is much more agile and brave than me. On many of our runs I would jog/walk while she lapped circles around me on…are you ready for this…ROLLER SKATES! What a woman! Sue is amazing!

Since today is National Make a New Friend Day it is all about friendship. Experts tell us that an average person makes about 396 friends in their lifetime. Studies also reveal that only one of 12 friendships last. Most gum-wrapper chains don’t burn to the end, I guess. Too bad.

However, here are some interesting nuggets about friends, at least I think they are interesting, in a nerdy, Wimpy Girl way. See what you think.

∗  A friendship survey concluded that Malaysians had the most buddies in online social networks, while Japanese had the fewest. The research spanned 46 countries.

∗  Animals have friends too. Scientists tell us that whales have best friends and apes, horses, elephants and dolphins make friends, but not necessarily from their own species.

∗  The tv show, Friends, was originally named Insomnia Café.

And, finally…

∗  The longest friendship bracelet, according to Guinness World Record was 2,166 ft 11.16 in, and was created by residents at the Benchmark Senior Living Connecticut. They did it to raise awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association and designated it as a symbol of the challenges that Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers face daily. How cool is that?

So today, be friendly. Smile, and if you are wearing a mask, smile with your eyes or go online. Try to meet someone new. Or, even better, revive an old friendship.

Now, more than ever, we all need the support that friendship rewards.  Friends feel good.

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg, even though she knows that you are slightly cracked. ~Bernard Meltzer