You Call Those Guys Friends?

High school friends are like no other. Some you knew for four years or less while others you knew since the first grade or before, and I don't care if you're one of those who's been to every reunion or one of those who cusses the thought of going to even one, there have been more than a few times in your life you have thought back to those years and smiled. Maybe even more so now that you're getting older.

I've said it before and I strongly believe it, the camaraderie that developed during high school is a lot like that between soldiers who fought side by side in a foxhole. Me may not have laid down our lives for each other, but we fought the sometimes hard fight against the system, the faculty, puberty and at times, each other.

What made your friends so unique was they could be both supporter and antagonist at the same time.

If you studied too hard..."What do you want to waste your time with that stuff?"
If you didn't study enough..."If you ain't gonna try any harder than that why don't you just quit and go work at the White Store or something?"

If you participated too much in class..."Why do you keep brown nosin' up to Miss Mize for?"
If you didn't participate enough..."You know, you can raise your hand sometimes too."

If you dated too much..."Oh, so you're gonna go with HER I guess!"
If you didn't date enough... "You know, I'm getting tired of draggin' your ass around every weekend."

If she wasn't what they considered attractive... "You asked who?!?!?"
If she was attractive... "Don't know why you want to go out with her, she'll dump you as soon as somebody better comes along."

If you went to too many games..."Is sports all you think of? It ain't like you're playin'."
If you didn't go to enough games... "What's wrong with goin' to the football game? We can go to Knoxville tomorrow night."

If you worked too much after school... "Skip work just this once. They won't miss you just this one time."
If you didn't work enough... "You better do somethin' to get some money, cuz you're gonna help pay for gas."

If they didn't want you to tag along... "Yes, I gotta date. You don't expect me to spend every weekend with you guys do you?"
If you didn't want them tagging along... "I won't say a word. You and her can be together and I'll go somewhere and get lost."

Talk about being fickle! But yes, I called them friends. They were still terrific, and I miss them. It would be so much fun to spend even one night sitting around having a few beers and talking about those days. Those were the days.