Currently? ... 2

Back when I used to drink I had a ton of "friends", bartenders loved me, the people in the bars were always there for me and then a funny thing happened....I got sober...For a while my old "friends" would check in with me and see where I was but as i got stronger in my sobriety they all more or less vanished.

I have my dogs, my wife and my daughter but honestly I do not really trust anyone one enough to get close to right now so I pretty much keep to myself and at least that way no one can screw me

since moving to tiny town , 9 years ago, 2.

I know a 1/2 dozen people that I can go to for help , if need be.

but they couldn't be considered friends

"Once people found out I wasn't their 'in' they vanished in droves. "

about 35 years ago my older brother remarked that since he had quit drinking, a lot of his 'friends' had mysteriously just disappeared...

I've got 5 friends that I stay in pretty close contact with and see pretty frequently. Plus my wife.

Mid-30's.

Excluding family, 3, one of which I have known for about 25 years. He and I talk in some form or another at least 4 days out of any given week.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
I figured out that you only truly know a friend, a spouse, a girlfriend, etc, two ways. By either living with them or having a crisis of some kind. You ever want to find out, it'll be medical or financial. Those situations arise, it will be absolutely crystal because many want to be your friend when things are great, but they scatter like roaches when the light is turned on when bad stuff happens.

Wisdom right here and truth.
The 2 people that are my best friends and my GF's cousins ran into financial woes last Fall and over the Winter. He lost his job at GM. They asked for help and people scattered with a multitude of excuses.
I was there and helped them financially and morally. Made a few house payments for them and always made sure they had food.
"We'll repay you Mike".
"Nope, just have me over when you cookout and give me food and beer".
Am I a Saint? Far from it but I've been through shit myself and value true friends.

I have 2 "Best Friends", both male, both men I met in the Air Force, both gun people. I have a number of lesser friends, mostly in the church choir, who I could count on for some assistance if needed. And one former coworker who would be willing to help in some ways.

It is enough.

flashguy

I'm one of 5 siblings with 22 years between the oldest and youngest, we all get along great and do stuff together often.

Aside from that 2 really good friends (they are brothers) that I have known my entire life that I see every month or 2 and can trust with anything. Then another 3 or 4 that I really get along with and enjoy their company.

I've never had a big long list of friends and for the most part have been lucky in that there hasn't been any drama or conflict with any of those friends.

One friend who would give me his last dollar. He'd sacrifice himself for me, and I for him.

Actual friends that I regularly keep in touch with and do stuff with? Maybe 5 or 6?

And now with a newborn and 2.5 year old, my time to spend with them is severely limited anymore.

Like Hobbs, we have 2 four legged friends. Certainly I can count my wife of 45 years. Then there's you guys, of course there's a couple of you I wonder about.

I've never been a very outgoing person and have never made any lasting friendships. It's a lonely world out there.

There are people I know that I share common interests with but outside of those things I wouldn't really call them friends. At my age (33) everyone either has kids now or just leads very busy lives with no time to make new friends.

Eight? Two I hang with on a regular basis. One I see every so often, but he's an early bird and I'm a night owl, so our schedules rarely coincide. Two were my former coworkers that I see sporadically. Two are in L.A. that I see only about once or twice a year. One lives in Hawaii that I only see maybe twice a decade, but we've emailed each other multiple times a week for over 20 years.

Acquaintances many. Friends few. And my cat.

I have two. At the moment they hate each other...

0.
Everyone is really just an acquaintance now that I've been around a few corners and know better than I once did.

Funny how reality hits in as get older and a little more mature.

I've repeatedly told my teenagers that I'd prefer to have one or two good friends than lots of people I call friends.

Closing out my forties now and it's always been just a couple close friends. Some I don't keep in touch with that much.

It doesn't matter how much time or distance when you have a real friend you can pretty much pick up the conversation like it never stopped. I imagine it has something to do with shared experiences, but there is never any explaining.

Cheers~

well, I'd say two utterly, life-and death reliable. I'm not married, so a wife isn't one of them.

I'm blessed to have several, one of 50+ years and another of 20+, both of which live hundreds of miles away now. We stay in daily contact via text. No homo, though. Three others I have breakfast with every morning at the local greasy spoon. And my wife.