Close Friends

This week was the last full "free" week that David and I had together for the summer, so Monday we decided to head to downtown Houston.  We visited the Holocaust Museum (very sad, but I highly recommend seeing it) and the Health Museum.  In the exhibit at the Health Museum there was a 'game' that would compute how long you were supposed to live.  It began at the average age of males (77) and females (80) in the US and then proceeded from there. It was quite simple-you just answered yes or no questions. 

"Do you smoke?" No + 5 years
"Do you wear a seat belt while in the car?" Yes +2 years
"Do you eat red meat or pork?" Yes -1 year  (they can have that year because I'm  not giving up a good burger, lol)

"Do you have 4 or more close friends?"..............I don't know ??

I just stood there and did not know how to answer this question. 

I mean, define the term 'close friend'.  I have a lot of friends, but what makes them 'close'?  It is the amount of time you spend with them each week?  And if that is true, are you're friendships therefore always going to be determined by where you live and who is nearby?  Maybe it's the people you've known the longest.  Like those that you grew up with or went to school with, but even then you often lose touch with those people after high school.  Or maybe it's the people you hold the most dear in your heart.  Life is busy and sometimes you forget to make time to call friends and get together with them, even though you are thinking of them often.  But does just thinking of somebody really make you 'close' friends with them?  And then I started to feel bad.  I mean, what if I hold certain people as really close friends to me, but they don't even think so because I'm not calling them enough or going out with them for coffee.  How can one little question be so hard?!


Does this make sense?  What do you think defines close friendship?  I would love to know everyone's ideas on the question....


(Oh, and by the way, I'm supposed to be around until I'm 86 years old.)