Hopping On (and Off) the Bandwagon

True relationships are true no matter what the circumstances. Be wary of friends who are around only when times are good. I have a personal friend who is very successful. He is often in the limelight and attends high profile events and functions. Over the years, he has made many friends. Not too long ago, he went through a bad spell. His fortunes dipped, and he was not as social as he had previously been. Some of those "friends" turned out to be people who had jumped on his bandwagon. As soon as he went through rough times, they jumped right off. Although this was painful for my friend, he was grateful for the opportunity to find that many of his friends stayed around and offered him needed support. He now had a much clearer picture of who his true friends were. Now that he is on the upswing again, some of those who had deserted him are trying to get back into his good graces—with no luck. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "A false friend and a shadow attends only when the sun shines."