Friendly

​I was concerned I might hurt myself.  Trying to use big words can do that.  I gave Merril the dictionary to randomly pick a word.  Turns out I need not have been concerned.  The word her finger fell on was “friendly.”
But what was I supposed to do with that?  I could not express angst or frustration.  Friendly is good.  It is well…friendly.  Even the definition of friendly was friendly.  “Kind, pleasant, not harmful, favourable.”  It has a military application.  Even here was not a place of darkness or deception.  No mention of friendly fire or the like.  It was about friendly forces.  Those on someone’s side.  Even in competitions they have a “friendly.”  A game that does not count for anything but a practice.
I was really impressed when I went to a rugby union game between the British Isles and Australia years ago.  It was not really a friendly but meant nothing really except bragging rights. 
What impressed me was not the standard of football (it was good) but the singing of the English supporters.  Boy do they know how to sing.  And they know the words.  Not knowing the words has never stopped me though.  Maybe singing that the engine of the car is under the bonnet at the front was wrong.  But hey, I knew for next time.
I do reckon that to have friends a person needs to be friendly though.  I do not feign it.  I really am interested.  But I have found in most cases all that is needed is to ask a person about themselves and they will often talk and talk.  And often they think I am the greatest person in the world.
Thankfully for me it is not a pretend thing.  I like people.  Sometimes they come out with the most amazing things.  Often it is stuff no one else knows because they have never taken the time to get to know someone.
I was once at one of these sessions which started with a getting to know you.  The people were a diverse group, and many were unknown to each other.  I found out the person I was sitting next to had a new animal discovery named after them because they were instrumental in the discovery.  Not even their associates knew that.  I find it is a wonder the things everyday people experience.  But I never know without being friendly.
I guess that ties in with something else I read about friendly.  “Not hostile.”  There is nothing like being beaten up to suggests hostile.  I was not being beaten up but I talked to someone one time and asked him about himself.  He said “so many questions,” and clammed up.  I could only conclude he had something to hide.  It seems my motive was genuine interest and his was self-protection.
Oh well, it is like I always say, I am not responsible for someone else’s response, but I am responsible for me.  To try to change the way I am would be too hard for me even if I wanted to do it – which I don’t.  My motives may be misunderstood, but I will always try to be friendly.