A few years ago I wrote an essay on friendship, which I just remembered since I'm listening to Joe Cocker's incredible cover of the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" (a performance I'm constitutionally unable to listen to at anything less than full volume). To me, friendship is one of the great values of life. My Randian friends may shy away from saying so, but since I'm a (nearly) recovered Randian, I'm comfortable saying that other people (my friends and family) are of fundamental importance to me. Perhaps it's because I come from a large and supportive family (yes, I have 72 first cousins!). Perhaps it's because I realize that life is incredibly short, and that very few people achieve or create anything that will truly last (I'm not arrogant enough to think that my music or writings fall into that category). So what do we have? People. Relationships. Interactions. Someone to love. Yes, I'm a stubborn Dutchie, an introspective self-starter, a borderline geek, and pretty much of a loner. But even I get by with a little help from my friends. And I try to reciprocate by helping and supporting them whenever I'm able. Or at least I try not to sing out of key. ;-)