A friend in need is a friend indeed, and I finally get what that means

 

I never understood the phrase ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed’; what were they trying to say?  That a needy friend is a real friend?  We all want real friends in our lives, but do they have to be needy ones?

After doing some research, it turns out the phrase, versed in a bit of Old English means a friend that comes around in times of need (yours not theirs) is a real one, duh.  And I am feeling very fortunate, as I do have one like that, my dear friend Susie.

I wrote about her before, she accompanied me to my colonoscopy this past January.  She’s loud, boisterous with a heart of gold.  And thanks to her, I am a little less sick.

Last Saturday I awoke with a tickle in my throat--by evening I was coughing nonstop.  This went on all day Sunday, Monday… I was getting no sleep.

(My last blog, about the average guy and social security?  I got out of bed Monday night and started that at 1:30am, hoping it would help me doze off… nope, I wound up working on it thru the night and posted it Tuesday morning.) 

Finally, on Wednesday I called my friend Susie and asked if I could get some advice.  She said “Omigod, what’s wrong with your voice??”  I told her I’d been dealing with a bad cough since Saturday, and should I consider going to the ER or find an Urgent Care. 

She said she heard something was going around, and witnessed someone with a pretty deep cough just yesterday.  She asked if I was taking anything, I said I was drinking Chamomile tea with clover honey and sucking on YumEarth (organic) lemon drops.

Susie said “Who told ya to do that, Martha Stewart?!  Dougie, I gotta call Sears about my fridge warranty before 5pm—can I call you back with a list of stuff you should get from the drugstore?”   I said yes please and hung up.

Thirty minutes later, someone was buzzing me outside.  I went downstairs, and my friend Susie was there, holding two bags (with the items seen at the top of this post). 

When I thanked her and asked her to wait so I could run upstairs and fetch my wallet, she said “I DON’T WANT YOUR MONEY!!”  I said I couldn’t just take this stuff for free, and she said “OH TRUST ME, YOU’LL PAY FOR IT SOONER OR LATER!”

Three days later and here I am, still with a deep chest cough.  I may still see a doctor if things aren’t better by Monday, but thanks to Susie, the second half of the week has been a lot better than the first.  She’s a friend indeed.