What Makes a Great Friend

Maybe it’s these four things.

A great friend got married yesterday. For the occasion I did a bit of reflecting on what makes a great friend. Four things came to mind. I know there are many more. For what little it’s worth, those four reflections come at the end of this reasonably brief excerpt of my toast.

I’ve heard Nick say in six minutes what he might have said in six seconds. I’ve heard him ask me how I’m doing a thousand times and then give me that look in the eye when I don’t want to tell him the truth.

Can the man accommodate at least one god damn superficial conversation.

But he cannot. It is not in his DNA.

And for that reason he has saved me many times. From the throes of depression. From euphoric highs that might have gone too far. From marrying the wrong person. One night I asked him what he thought of a then girlfriend.

“Andy. Hell no.” That conversation helped me marry the right person. Manuela sends her love.

Some friends know how to listen. Some friends know how to ask the hard questions that invite the listening. Some friends know when to do something about what’s been said. And some friends know when to do nothing at all so you can do it yourself.

Nick is all four of those friends.