Friends

Friends are friends forever...or so the saying goes.  True friends from childhood, true friends from high school, and true friends from college or work can often last a lifetime.  How many "true" friends are there?  The English word is derived from the Anglo-Saxon freon (to love), which is thought to derive from the word freo (free).  It implies that one is attached to another by affection or esteem.  It means one that is not hostile.  Thus, one is "free" from worry about "hostility" in a relationship that is built on affection and esteem.  Would life not be so simple.

The Anglo-Saxons also had a word for "enemy", i.e., one that is hostile.  The words are very close to the same except for the letter "r".   That's right.  One small letter of the Saxon alphabet made all the difference between friend or enemy.  "R" you friend or foe?  Can you imagine what might happen if you got tongue tied during a first encounter.  Perhaps this is where the old pirate saying..."aryee" comes?  "Aryee" ye friend or foe?  At any rate, how you say something can often make the difference between friend or foe.