Free Along Friendship

Recently Amy was scheduled to travel to New York with her good friend and ex Von, in order to provide company and support on Von's first visit to the big apple, and of course to see the sights of NY. In addition to that, was the added bonus of spending good quality one on one time with an old friend whom she had not seen for years, we'll call this friend Earl. There have been problems between Amy and Earl in the past, and there have been missed opportunities, but over the course of any 20 year relationship, many such things come to pass.
Come departure date the weather on the east coast became increasingly less travel friendly. And the icing on the runway was severe mis-management on the part of Jet Blue, the airline where Amy had her ticket. Hence, just hours before their embarking on the journey, news traveled down that the flight was canceled.
This news really hit Amy and Von hard, leaving them completely disappointed and crushed for the rest of the weekend, and in fact they are still not over it yet.
Matters did not improve when Earl sent Amy an email, that can at best be termed unfriendly. It was obviously disappointment in the circumstance misdirected at the Amy the person, but that is a bitter pill to swallow for someone emotionally invested. 20 years is an extreme investment, and it's understandable that emotions run hot, but it's just sad to see something as silly as a canceled flight lead to damage in a 20 year friendship.
It's had me thinking lately on the value of friends and friendship, and I keep coming back to one thought, that in friendships, the people are in them are not the most important thing, it's the shared experience. Friends may frustrate you, and over the years they may become a person who is a far cry from the person that initially attracted you to them in the first place, but what really matters in a relationship is the shared experience. So years later two people who lead completely different lives still have a commonality that allows them to relate, it's not who the individual is, but what the individuals have shared and experienced together that matters.

I've been thinking about this, and in keeping with that I've had an idea for a bit more blogging. I hope to in the coming weeks post a few entries here and there about some of my old best friends, particularly the ones I've lost touch with. It seems healthy.