I’VE BEEN THINKING of this loyalty thing for a while. IA c t u a l l y had several good discussions about t o w nThere’sbeen a lot of good perspectives, especially from Editor John and my mentor Mr. Croney. After reading several emails this week,

Crumbscorner@gmail.com and yes, their still coming).

I figured I could offer my perspective since I’ve experienced this throughout college, business, youth sports and now through the eyes of a political neophyte.

My mother talked with me about friends and loyalty when I was younger. Friendship was fairly big with her, she was a well liked women, smart, savvy and very intelligent. Her friends were her friends for life, You could wrong her and you would never know it. She held her cards close to her chest. I inquired about this with her on occasion and she would explain; we all have a lot of opportunities to be friends with a very diverse group, we have differences of opinions, and different upbringings that influence our friendships. But the most important factor in my moms friendship qualities was loyalty. She often said that if you live right, be honest with those around you, accept your flaws and theirs, you’ll have more friends than you know what to do with. She would go on to point out that, out of all these friends, 10s, 100s possibly. That when the chips are down and you need help, or love, there are only a handful that will step up. And those are truly the people that are more than just acquaintances. They share your values, respect, and loyalty. If you’re stuck in Central Park, New York without a dollar, but have your trusty Nextel and call them, within eight hours they’ll be there.

Last year, My son Reid flew into LaGuardia Airport, Got stranded, it was about 8:00 pm one Friday night, They told him it would be Tuesday before he could get out. Having only $20.00 to his name he called for a ride. The father in me said “I’ll go get him” called a friend, asked if he wanted to go for coffee,. He said “where” I told him, and off we went. That’s a friend. I have probably 5 other friends that would do the same for me, as I would for them. Its loyalty, above all. It’s good to be here and share the trials and tribulations with them.

Here’s why I think loyalty rules:

No one likes a quitter. Let’s be honest, when someone quits your team, you probably won’t look at that person in the same way, especially if that person quit for the sake of quitting. If you quit, it should be for the right reasons. Dedication goes a long way and friends will recognize this.

Listen - People in your life have to feel that if they tell you something sensitive, you will keep it in confidence. They also need to know that you will listen openly, without judgment, and that you will resist the urge to "fix things" until you are asked to offer your solution.

DWYSYWD - Do what you said you would do, that is to say, keep your promises and follow through. People will grow to trust you when they realize that your word carries weight. If you are reliable, you must prove it. Respect - There is a value to respect which money can't buy. Though someone's life might not depend on it, there are times, many times in fact, when another person has the chance to make a personal decision - a judgment call. When that person feels sincere respect for someone else, they will make a different decision than if they feel no respect, even if they have customarily shown a false, pseudo-respect to the person.

Forgiveness - Forgiveness is an important quality of a true friend. It is necessary when problems arise. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes. Forgiveness is important for maintaining your respect.

Encouragement - There are always periods in your life when you feel down. A good friend will encourage a friend to do things for feeling better. Encouragement is a great quality every friend should have for helping each other through a difficult process

Caring - A real friend will always care for you, in good and bad situations. He or she will always care for you no matter which problem you have and will give you the necessary support to reach certain goals.

Nancy’s Crumbs

It’s done, No more “Nancy’s Crumbs” a friend asked me to stop. He said “ those people that matter know what’s going on.” I guess he’s probably right. It’s too bad; it was a good run, pretty funny too. I never realized the sheer number of people that read and comment. I was in Barre over the weekend and there in the middle of a parade, in which I’m pulling a cow down Main Street, a fine lady says,”Keep up the good work, I love Crumbs Corner.” Well I do too; I really enjoyed its evil twin Nancy’s Crumbs as well. Maybe, just maybe we’ll bring her back from time to time. Besides my friend said there was no reason to pull the dog into it. “He didn’t deserve to be included in the column; after all it wasn’t his fault.”

Till next week, “my work here is done “ Keep the crumbs away from the dog dish.

Richard Wobby crumbscorner@gmail.com