Swooper Trooper

I spent sunday evening with one of my oldest friends, slurping juice and laughing over nothing particularly funny. It felt so familiar and so damn good to not have to think before speaking, to not have to be afraid of being judged by what one says or does.

I came across this quote of Elizabeth Taylor's recently, in an old issue of the Reader's Digest, and her words rang so true to my ears - you know who your friends are when you're involved in a scandal.

Now a lot of people might never have the opportunity to star in a scandal. And perhaps, they lose out on the true test of friendship, but what the hell, nothing is worth being involved in a scandal. And then some people might say that money is the true test of friendship. But I beg to differ on that, because I know a lot of people who don't mind having friends who are poorer. And I know some people who thrive on being around friends who aren't as 'loaded' as they are, maybe because it boosts their own sense of self-worth. And of course, when a friend is in the doldrums financially, it must make a person feel so good to be able to swoop in with a cheque to the rescue.

But how or what does one do to help someone who is knee-deep in scandal? How does one support a friend when the whole of society, or the city, or the nation, or even the whole world is damning the person in question?

There is a beautiful story narrated in the bible, where Jesus addresses an angry mob thus- let he who has committed no sin cast the first stone. That line speaks for itself, really, no explanation required. Of course, Jesus was one hell of a public speaker.

I've noticed that a lot of people don't like to get their hands dirty, unless it's mud-slinging someone else. Which is fair enough. But that only applies to the REST of the world, not to YOUR OWN world a.k.a immediate family and friends.

In a perfect world, family and friends would swoop in like eagles, their well-tended feathers shielding your defenseless, weather-beaten self, until the rest of the big bad ugly world found something else to distract itself with. And then of course, that warm cozy circle could take the liberty of tearing you to shreds with their opinions, and shake you silly till you wake up and smell the coffee. But that's okay, because you'll need to hear it from someone anyway.

But those 'friends' who stay on the other side of the cliff, who refuse to swoop in and prefer instead to watch from a safe distance while you struggle to overcome the demons at your door-step, well, you're better off without them.

And to think I had this bolt of enlightenment while chatting with my friend over a tall glass of pomegranate juice sans sucre, well, I guess it says a lot about which side of the cliff he's perched on.

He qualifies as a Grade A Swooper in my book.