{"id":8897,"date":"2023-04-14T23:03:46","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T22:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=8897"},"modified":"2023-04-19T07:09:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T06:09:23","slug":"friends-family-thank-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=8897","title":{"rendered":"FRiENDS &amp; FAMiLY: Thank You!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"750\" height=\"649\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_7750.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8900\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_7750.jpg 750w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_7750-300x260.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dan doing his thang on floot!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I have to express heartfelt gratitude to Dan, a pal since secondary school, who\u2019s helped us out with getting wheels. And my mum, for stepping up to help me cover Hire &amp; Reward insurance, so I can start earning again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That old saying \u2018a friend in need is a friend indeed\u2019 has taken on a deeper resonance, thanks to their generosity and kindness. Thanks, mum and my ol\u2019 buddy! Thanks also to Mel, who <em>gave us <\/em>the car that\u2019s just been made roadworthy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s generally true or not, these days, and in \u2018our culture\u2019 at large, but I feel that, personally, I find it quite hard to ask for help. It feels like an admission of personal failure, to even need help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A successful person ought to stand on their own! Plus I\u2019m quite introverted, so helping or being helped can be tricky, as it involves interaction and, potentially, emotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dtC1W-6hwIU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I love Bill Withers. And just as the aforementioned saying about friendship, referred to above, has achieved a deeper meaning for me, so too has his superb song, Lean On Me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there is an irony, or a Catch 22, inasmuch as that when one feels weak, vulnerable, or at a low ebb &#8211; as I have been doing lately &#8211; one can become <em>less <\/em>inclined to help others <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With one\u2019s own suffering becoming all consuming, the energy reserves required to help others simply aren\u2019t there. But perhaps doing so <em>despite<\/em> this can be part of fixing one\u2019s problems? I don\u2019t claim to know! But that it occurs to me at all is, I think, a good sign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dan and other (Mel and mum) good examples are making me think about how &#8211; whether right now, or a bit later (when I\u2019m feeling better able) &#8211; I or we might have something to contribute, either to those we already know, or even those we don\u2019t as yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZdJ5e70Q8mw?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And to finish? A sentiment I need to express, done <em>a la<\/em> Beastie Boys! I like the music, a lot. But the fashion sense and vocal vibes? A bit brash for me, these days. Still, this era of BB (<em>Check Your Head<\/em>?) is great, in most respects.  RIP, Adam Yauch. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have to express heartfelt gratitude to Dan, a pal since secondary school, who\u2019s helped us out with getting wheels. And my mum, for stepping up to help me cover Hire &amp; Reward insurance, so I can start earning again. That old saying \u2018a friend in need is a friend indeed\u2019 has taken on a &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=8897\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;FRiENDS &amp; FAMiLY: Thank You!&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paGwUa-2jv","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8897"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8897"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8910,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8897\/revisions\/8910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}