Beware of Friends Looking For Friends With Boats.

January 14, 2010

Not too long ago I was at a friend’s house for dinner. He told me a simple story that has stayed with me since.

There was nothing to it, really, and was said only in passing. Yet Aesop’s fables are often only a few lines long and have sent aftershocks through the centuries.

My friend is one of those guys you just know is going to make it. He’s determined, hard working, talented and charismatic. He’s also a good looking guy, which we all know goes a long way to increase the credit limit, especially in LA. He will one day soon have all he has dreaming of, I’ve no doubt in my mind.

One of the harbingers of “making it” for my friend is having his own boat. This is something he has always wanted and cannot wait to have. When mentioning this desire to a friend, his friend replied, “That would be awesome! I would love a boat too. Maybe we can pool our money and get one together one day. We could get an old one even, maybe fix it up on the weekends.”

This suggestion made my friend happy.

About a week after the exchange he was standing in the same spot, this time with a different friend. He repeated his dream to one day have a boat. This second friend said, “That would be awesome! I’ve always wanted a friend with a boat… In fact, I need a friend with a boat.”

Beware of friends looking for friends with boats.

Live better. Sign up for free updates to Writer Dad by RSS or Email!

  • Share/Bookmark

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

  • There are a lot of such characters in this world. But oftentimes, we are not aware of this. It takes experience to learn from it, or perhaps taking heed of the warning you have shared here. :-)
  • Thanks, Walter. Tis true. It's sad that we have to learn to keep our guard up, but we kinda sorta do. Seems there are always friends out there who are looking for friends with boats.
  • I need a friend who makes amazing tamales. Oh, wait, I ALREADY HAVE ONE OF THOSE! He's my mechanic and he's awesome.
    .-= Hayden Tompkins´s last blog ..Losing Weight: The Donut Diet =-.
  • Man, I need a mechanic who makes tamales! Unfortunately, I only have one who overcharges. : (
  • Trina
    ...or friends with cabins, pools, etc. great share Sean.
  • So you get the pattern!

    Thanks, Trina. : )
  • I wouldn't want to share my boat, too many captains spoil the ship.
    .-= Jack´s last blog ..If I Was a Professional Blogger =-.
  • Yup.

    Good luck on the year of Jack!
  • Moochers - if you build it, they will come. ;-)
    .-= Kelvin Kao´s last blog ..Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010 =-.
  • HA! Isn't that the truth. : )
  • I don't get it. I don't think I get. The moral is to get your own boat, not to leach on other people to use their boats? Is that it?
    .-= Ari Herzog´s last blog ..Why Do You Subscribe to Blog Comments? =-.
  • Hiya, Ari! Always nice to see you.

    Yeah, it just means beware of moochers. One friend wanted to pool their resources, perhaps build something together. The other friend merely wanted to climb to the top alongside him. Of course, there is also quiet history behind the rest of the story.

    : )
  • I only recently resubscribed to your blog.... after going through and removing all RSS subs.
    .-= Ari Herzog´s last blog ..Commenter or Lurker: Which Blog Participant Are You? =-.
  • Thanks, Ari. I appreciate it!

    I know the feeling. I haven't been in my reader once since around mid October. It just got too overwhelming. I need to start over with a small list of sites that I know I can keep up with. There's nothing worse than feeling like you're drowning - especially when it's something that can be managed.
  • That made me laugh,because it reminded me of something my mother always said. When trying to point out that somebody was a user, she would recount the story of a lavish dinner invitation...." Would you like to come to a duck dinner?"............"wonderful! you bring the duck".(do you remember her saying that?)
  • No, I don't remember that at all, but it's super funny and totally sounds like Honey! Thanks for a memory, Ma.
  • And that's why I'm happy I knew you before you became obscenely rich and successful.
    .-= Selfish´s last blog ..Jam Spoon =-.
  • I don't have to be obscenely rich, I'd happily settle for mildly irritatingly rich instead. : )
    .-= Sean´s last blog ..Rolling Portfolio #1 =-.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: