What does it mean to be a friend? I’ve found myself thinking about this question a lot this week. It seems to me that a friend is one who accepts you, despite your faults. Today I found myself remembering a long ago monopoly game, played on a front porch in New Orleans. It was a game that showed me that someone I had looked up to and respected could be a poor loser and a bad sport. That is what games do I think, allow us to see how others act under different circumstances.
For the record, we had a very nice lunch yesterday. We both liked the restaurant and very much enjoyed our meal out. Yet the words I had with my other friend continue to leave me feeling great frustration. It’s not that any of his criticisms were off base. Honestly? I was already well aware of all of the faults he mentioned. I think we all of us have faults, and it does seem to me that part of being a friend is accepting and loving each other, damaged and as we are. It seems to me ridiculously easy to tell someone you’ve come to know well exactly what you have perceived is wrong with them. But it hardly seems kind. Nor very sporting for that matter. I certainly didn’t consider his remarks a favor.
It was interesting to me that the image search for these three terms brought up this social media monopoly board. It amused me that Linked in is the least valuable property on the board and the jail is Myspace. The four phones in place of the railroads and the Technorati and Mashable cards also amused me. I did find myself wondering how appropriate placing the blogging platforms in the dark orange area was, though at the moment it’s not surprising that Twitter and Facebook are in the Partk Place and Boardwalk positions. Monopoly at this point seems to me such an old-fashioned, low-tech sort of game that I can’t honestly imagine playing it. Even if I were confident my companions were up to it. And even if we had this cool new-fangled social media edition.
