Does It Hurt To Care?

The American writer and cartoonist Johnny Gruelle created the story "Raggedy Ann" for his daughter Marcella. You can read it by going here; it will put a new face on the prospect of caring. I'm not going to talk anymore about the book; that's not what has me writing this morning. But then why bring it up? It relates to the overall story I am going to try to tell.

Today I read an interesting article about an interview that Oprah Winfrey had participated in. During the interview, Oprah said that she has discarded some people that you may know: Dr Phil and Dr Oz, who were once her friends. But because they no longer add anything to her agenda, or promote her interests, she has no further interest in them. She no longer needs them. I ask myself, were they ever friends? Or were they just the hired help? They sure added a lot of good to her show. Had they not been there, where would her show have gone?

That made me think of all the things that I see daily that are thrown aside because they are no longer interesting. The worst I can think of is friendship. A best friend can be tossed aside one day for the stupidest reasons. It is a fact that these days best friends become staunch enemies just for their political beliefs. 

When I speak of "best friends," I can truthfully say that I have never had one. I mean I have had people around me whom I considered my friends, but none of them were ever my "best friend." Really, what is a best friend? I hear that a lot from women and girls, especially on YouTube. A lot of the time it's plural, "my best friends and I ..." 

While I was reading through Raggedy Ann, I thought about this. That was one doll that was put through a lot. But then you don't care for a doll the same way that you would a person. But, you know, we get attached to things whether they are inanimate or not. I kinda felt sorry for the doll. Don't you ever get a tear in your eye when something that you've had for years goes missing? 

Do we really mean anything to each other? After all, we're just people. What value do we put on each other? I have been waiting 72 years for someone to answer that question in a way that I can understand. But the answer has yet to come my way.