Rusty Nails

Some friendships are like rusty nails. If you don't take the proper precautions they can really hurt you. Like give you lock jaw. Unfortunately there is no tetanus shot to protect you from the after effects of a bad friendship. You just sort ta have ta wait it out.

I remember the day we got our Chinese desk from Hong Kong. We ordered it while we were in Hong Kong and it got to our home about 2 months later. It came in two big crates. It was placed in the garage by the delivery service, and Paul and I unpacked it when he got home. We had to use a crow bar to pry the wood frame apart. As usual I wasn't wearing shoes and in no uncertain terms was sent inside to put on a pair of shoes, because "You don't know where these nails are coming from". I put on a pair of heavy sneakers, and as I was going over to pick up the wood that was coming off of the crate I stepped on a very long nail. It went into my foot quick and fast, and I didn't feel it until it was well into my foot. It never really hurt. We pulled it out through the sneaker, and then looked at my foot. It went in a good way, but I hardly had any pain and little blood. At Paul's insistence I called the doctor, and the doctor told the nurse to tell me he was still open to come right in - not to wait until tomorrow as I wanted to do. I thought this was silly, but it was easier to do this than listen to Paul. When I saw the Doctor I inquired about the urgency of the visit. He was concerned about a bone infection. He was less concerned about the nail coming from China than he was about it going through my sneaker. He gave me a tetanus shot and antibiotics, and explained that if the nail had reached a bone and infected it - it would be very difficult to get rid of the infection and would take a long time to heal.

That is how a close friendship that goes bad feels. Once the initial hurt has lessened it still takes a long time for the wound to heal. Like a physical wound it leaves its unsightly scabs then eventually forms a scar.