The fire burning in my veins IS my family!

Since I don't have much time to kill, just a little, this will be brief. I am still interested in this thing, so I will still do it. On to the adventure!
As you might infer from the title, I say family. Though how I define family is different than true blood family. I make maybe two or three friends a year (if I am lucky/interested in doing so). To me, my blood family ends at my parents. I have no brothers or sisters, have never really interacted with my extended family much, so my friends ARE my family to me. My brothers, sisters, confidants and informants... there is nothing in the world that I value more than these! I don't give my friendship lightly, and it takes a lot to earn my trust. But once I give it, it is almost for life. It takes a severe betrayal for me to cut someone off. No, once you are part of my family I will willingly die to protect you, always try to make you laugh when you are down, give you the best advice I can, and give you my shoulder to cry on when I can do nothing else. That, to me, is family.
Strangers are those that I will not do much more than be civil with. I distrust all who are not me or mine. No real offense, but I can't trust you until you become family to me.
Anyway, this is a bit longer than expected. The pic is of me and my brothers on our San Jose trip. A picture tells a thosand words. What does this say to you?



An Experiment in Longevity: Topic TWO