There is something to be said about friends who actually know you.
I was walking along Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills after dinner at Kyuramen with my wife when I felt someone accelerating behind me. Not a casual stroll kind of speed. Someone closing in with purpose. I did what I always do in that situation. I tracked it. Measured the distance. Started working through my options.
At the point where I was about to turn around and handle it, my buddy comes in from behind, throws his arm around my neck, blocks my elbow with his free hand, and says happy birthday.
He knew. He knew exactly what was coming and he protected himself before I could even process that it was him. The arm around the neck was the greeting. The hand on my elbow was the smart part. That was the hand I would have struck with and he knew it. He neutralized the response before it happened.
That is not something you can fake. That is years of paying attention. That is a friend who has watched you long enough to know not just how you move but how you think. He did not just know me. He knew me well enough to do threat assessment on me before I could do it on him.
That is a real one right there. Those friends are rare. Hold onto them.
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