Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.

Friendship is like money, easier made than kept.

He drew a circle that shut me out-- heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: we drew a circle that took him in.

I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.

Here's to you, and here's to me, Friends may we always be! But if perchance we don't agree, To hell with you, and here's to me!

A friend is someone you call to help you move. A best friend is someone you call to help you move... a body.

....... A Friend.... (A)ccepts you as you are (B)elieves in "you" (C)alls you just to say "HI" (D)oesn't give up on you (E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts) (F)orgives your mistakes (G)ives unconditionally (H)elps you (I)nvites you over (J)ust "be" with you (K)eeps you close at heart (L)oves you for who you are (M)akes a difference in your life (N)ever Judges (O)ffer support (P)icks you up (Q)uiets your fears (R)aises your spirits (S)ays nice things about you (T)ells you the truth when you need tohear it (U)nderstands you (V)alues you (W)alks beside you (X)-plains thing you don't understand (Y)ells when you won't listen and (Z)aps you back to reality

Some people make enemies instead of friends because it is less trouble.

Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.

Around the corner I have a friend, In this great city that has no end. Yet days go by and weeks rush on, And before I know it a year is gone, And I never see my old friend's face; For life is a swift and terrible race. He knows I like him just as well As in the days when I rang his bell And he rang mine. We were younger then-- And now we are busy, tired men-- Tired with playing a foolish game; Tired with trying to make a name. "Tomorrow," I say, "I will call on Jim, Just to show that I'm thinking of him." But tomorrow comes--and tomorrow goes; And the distance between us grows and grows. Around the corner!--yet miles away... "Here's a telegram, sir." "Jim died today." And that's what we get--and deserve in the end-- Around the corner, a vanished friend.

"Have no friends not equal to yourself."

"A friend to all is a friend to none."

"I'll keep it short and sweet. family. religion. friendship. these are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business. "

“An ambassador to France, [Benjamin Franklin] was the most sought-after man in Paris. But was Franklin always this popular? Hardly. In his autobiography he describes himself as a blundering young man—uncouth and unattractive. In Philadelphia one day an old Quaker friend took young Franklin aside and lashed him with these words: “Ben, you are impossible. Your opinions have a slap in them for everyone who differs with you. Your friends find they enjoy themselves better when you are not around.” One of the finest things we know about Franklin is the way he accepted that smarting rebuke. He was wise enough to realize that he was headed for failure and social disaster, and by applying himself to the laws of friendship, he turned himself completely around.”

"What is Real?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out-handle?" "Real isn't how you're made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, [for he was always truthful]. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up, or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time--that’s why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily or have sharp edges or have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all because once you are Real, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

God gave us our relatives; thank God we can choose our friends.

From time to time we hear statistics about how people first came into church membership. These figures trace back to the Institute for American Church Growth, which asked 10,000 people about their pilgrimage. What led them in? Answers were: Special need, 2 percent; Walk-in, 3 percent; Pastor, 6 percent; Visitation, 1 percent; Sunday school, 5 percent; Evangelistic crusade, 5 percent; Program, 3 percent; Friend/relative, 79 percent.

“My mother always said association brings assimilation, meaning you will act like the people you hang around.” - Comedian/actor Chris Rock answering the question, “What did your parents tell you that you never believed—until now?” Teen People, May 2003, p. 72.

In 1971, UCLA head coach Pepper Rodgers had a disastrous season that started with four straight losses. He later said things were so bad he had trouble finding any friends. "My dog was my only true friend," he says. "I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends — and she bought me another dog."

A couple of boys were fishing at their special pond off the beaten track. All of a sudden, the Game Warden jumped out of the bushes. Immediately, one of the boys threw his fishing pole down and started running through the woods. The Game Warden was hot on his heels. After about a half mile, the boy stopped to catch his breath, so the Game Warden finally caught up to him. "Let's see yer fishin' license, little man!" the Warden gasped. With that, the boy pulled out his wallet and gave the Game Warden a valid fishing license. "Well, son," said the Game Warden, "you must be about as dumb as a box of rocks! You don't have to run from me if you have a valid license!" "Yes, sir," replied the young man, "but my friend back there — well, he don't have one."

Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

No guest is so welcome in a friend’s house that he will not become a nuisance after three days. – Titus Maccius Plautus, 254-184 B.C.

Visits always give pleasure – if not the arrival, the departure. – Portuguese proverb