Imaginary Friends

Gearhead once describe a mutual acutance as his “Imaginary Friend.” I’ll admit I was puzzled by his statement at first, but Gearhead made the point that this person was only minimally available, but not afraid to ask others for assistance.

I’m sure that everyone has a friend where you put much more into the relationship than they do in return. This is an imaginary friend.

Now don’t get me wrong, Gearhead and I both like this imaginary friend. He is a nice guy and is very active in agriculture and the politics of it all, but he makes himself unavailable at very inconvenient times.

I spend a couple thousand dollars on his business every year, so he’s my friend. I got a call from him recently. He was in a panic because he had a big presentation to do and he couldn’t get his Power Point presentation to do what he wanted. I walked him through it over the phone, so he’s my friend.

Last week I was asked to speak at an event at which he is also speaking, so I called asking if he wanted to share a ride, he never got back to me. I know I’m going to run into him at the event, and I’m curious if he will acknowledge or deny getting my message.

After considering that even how nice and engaging this person is, had he wanted to travel with me it would have meant more than four hours in a truck with someone other than myself, and two days later there would be the same time and distance in a return trip. I chose to book a flight instead and hoped he wouldn’t return my call. The tickets cost less than fuel for the truck, and the conference hosts are reimbursing me for all my expenses.

I only hope I fly over his driving route and awaken from my nap as he pulls into the hotel several hours later.