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the other day at the 5k i saw elvis's friend teacherman. i would venture to say if you axt teacherman he would say that ace is his friend and that's fine, he can say that ace is his friend, but i wouldn't go so far as to say teacherman is my friend. you might say it doesn't have to be so complicated but i am here to tell you that it's not that simple. the concept of friendship has been facebooked. it's like this: i know teacherman. i like teacherman. when i see teacherman, i greet him with a big "teacherman!" and because i am just that way i will hug his neck. but i don't exchange emails with teacherman and i've never been to his home. we don't call on the weekend to see whuzzup and we don't go for a run or meet for drinks at the pub or travel together for a beach vacation. teacherman is solid good guy of the old-fashioned good guy variety and would be a valuable asset as a friend. i would not be ashamed to call him my friend if he were, but it's a shame to devalue the concept of friend by assigning the label to those who are something less.