A Friend in Need has a Car Indeed

I wrote a vulnerable entry last year about counting friends. Tonight I'm forced into another hazardous realm - measuring friends. Normally neither is a healthy practice, but when put to the test it's good to know that the friendships are there.

I need to borrow a car tomorrow. AND, to have it brought to my house by 8:30am. On a Sunday. It's important enough that I'm going through the phone book figuring out who to call. Important enough that I'm about to test some friendships with a request of this magnitude.

It's not like asking someone for a cup of sugar or a weedeater or to watch the kids, which can be reciprocated. This is someone's beloved wheels - expensive, damageable, disproportionately personal, frequently needed, and not normally shared. It's a big ask, and an awkward answer. Not something you ask of tier one or even tier two friends (don't those measurements sound horrible, but true?)

As I go through the phone list I smile at knowing that there are several friends in there who will say 'yes' - or an honest 'no' - if I call them tonight. More than one or two people with whom there is enough mutual trust to make the ask and trust in a truthful answer, and know that neither the question nor a "no" will hurt the bond.

I try not to measure friends, but at times like these, it's comforting to know just how well they measure up.