There is a short period of time where friends exert their greatest power. However as we age “friendship strength” has many pragmatic conditions woven in.

When you’re young, you are heavily influenced and therefore, are judged by the company you keep. You’re simply naive and a little dumb or brilliant. When you age it smells a lot like being shallow, untrue and thrown to circumstance. There is an affect, but usually short lived.

We are always meeting new people, learning new things, but it is with the shared new circumstances we find ourselves in.

It all starts over again with a certain youthful exuberance, when you begin your retirement phase. It’s usually a new location, new hobbies or refinement of old hobbies and then you meet new friends.

What I like most about this age and new friends, is the speed with which I / we can get to a common ground, the mutual needs / want and give / take communications take days not months or even years.

We don’t need to agree fully about heath or religion or politics, but what you do need is to have a want or need filled, (pickleball players), we like to be appreciated or be entertained.