The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Like many words, friendship is difficult to define in absolute terms, however, I do believe that there are some necessary components to a friendship which are nearly universal. In my opinion, here are some of those very components (with rare exceptions of course): - Friends try to life one another up, not tear each other down - Friends will be there to listen or give advice when needed, but not lecture whenever they feel like - Friends will give out of the kindness of their own hearts, not for something in return - Friends will make you feel like time with you is precious, not a burden - Friends will look out for your best interests, not how these interests will affect them - Friends will attempt to learn and be aware of your sensitivities, not try to learn them for the simple purpose of poking at them during future debates/arguments - Friends will show a consistent interest in you and your life, not just during the times when they need help - Friends will be forgiving,...

I love when talking to a person about their relation, they refer to it as "complicated" and refuse to talk about it anymore. To me, this translates to - "I'm sorry, but you wouldn't understand, so there's really no point in my telling you the story. What Zorro and I are going through has never been experience in the history of mankind. So, like I said, it's complicated - you just wouldn't understand." I find this especially amusing, because anyone over a certain age, whom has experienced a long-term relationship, will likely understand the gist of what someone is going through, no matter how "complicated" it is. Whenever someone says, "Oh, it's complicated," I want to reply with, "Eh, I doubt it. So, what's the story?"