You've Got to Have Friends

A friend and I were talking this weekend about what else? BARRY

We were discussing how he surrounds himself with loyal individuals. Camp Manilow reaches far, however, it is a small camp which explains how things stay pretty close to the vest.

Intricate details about Barry do not slip out. You do not hear about any fights within the camp either. If there are, we would never know about it. That is wonderful, and it goes to speak about the type of person Barry is.

Over the last week or two, there has been so much talk about Barry being this or being that. The only thing we can all agree on is - he guards his privacy to a fault.

Personally, I believe the Barry we see on stage, at functions, at meet and greets and platinum - is not the same Barry that is with his close group of friends. Yes, it more controlled settings he is not the “blown up Manilow” but he is still ON, and performing to a degree.

The Barry with his friends can be himself without every action being picked apart and being analyzed. His real friends are there when he is being a geek, and goofy, and even in a bad mood. You don’t hear about it. Do you know why? Because they are not advertising their friendship - they don’t need to. A real friend of Barry’s would not boast about it, they would not take every opportunity to say “Oh, I talked to Barry today.” Or, “I spoke to Barry and told him thus and so.”

I remember hearing a story in a play I attended. The character equated relationships with people to a tree.

Leaves - these people go whichever way the wind blows - meaning you cannot depend on them.

Branches - these people can fool you. You think they are stable but just when you depend on them, the branch breaks.

Roots - these people are there with you until the end. They are behind the scenes, I.e., the roots of the tree are below the ground but they are holding you up. They do not need to be seen or heard, you just know they are there. These “true” friends do not need to advertise they know you, and don’t care if anyone knows they know you.

Weird analogy, but looking at it - doesn’t it hit the nail on the head?

I have people around me that fall into each one of those categories. We all do, yes, even Barry. Thankfully, each one of us do not have to worry about the “root” people in our lives because they are not going out and telling our business, telling everyone that will listen different things about us. You will not have a lot of “root” people in your life, but the ones you have are there through thick and thin.

They are there - no recognition required.