Friend or Foe?

FRIEND
1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement:
5. Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.
tr.v. friend·ed, friend·ing, friends
1. To add (someone) as a friend on a social networking website.
2. Archaic To befriend.


I have given a lot of thought to friendship lately. I find that while I have many acquaintances, I have only a handful of friends. For me a friend doesn't even need to be someone I spend a lot of time with. One such person lives in NYC, and I have seen him once in the last 25 years, but we are kindred spirits, as thus, I consider him a friend.
I am one of those folks on Facebook. I really like it. I can keep in touch with several friends and family members. The dark side however is that is has made my life accessible by people that I would not ordinarily deign to bother with. Two-faced, mean, rude and negative people have invaded my sanctuary. I tend to observe them for a while like some sort of specimen, and then when I can stand it no more, I hide, block or delete them. If it were only that simple in real life.