I know many people. Well, I say I know them but really, I just know of them. I am not sure how many people I really truly know, beyond general pleasantries. It may be hundreds, possibly thousands. You may be one of them, if you are ‘hello to you’. The people I know come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and from many different backgrounds. Some are well off and some are poor. A few are very wealthy and a few are bordering on destitution. Some of the people I know are horrible people who I cannot stand. Others are people I love with all my heart and a few I would love more if they allowed me the opportunity and if I made the time. The people I know include parents, siblings, cousins, aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, children, stepchildren, ex wives and, last but not least, my darling wife. I also have neighbours, work colleagues, business associates, Facebook friends, and a small number of friends who are just occasional drinking and eating buddies. Some people I know are criminals and a few are shallow and unreliable. I know people from my childhood and I know people from all stages of my life since. However, just a few of the people I know are the people who I truly love and care for. You may be one of them.

The thing about knowing people is that they all also know me, even though I cannot remember all of them. Some know me well, some think they know me well, and others only know what I let them know. I guess I am not the only one who is selective in what I say or reveal to the people I know. Some probably hate me or maybe despise me. A few may actually like me or love me.

I have always wondered why I know so many people, but have so few friends. I think it is because I have an inability to trust other human beings. I have never set out to hurt anyone, but I have upset a few people in my time. I have squandered good friendships in the pursuit of other things that, at the time, seemed to be more important. Wisdom has since told me that I was very wrong and I regret losing some of the people I know. I often reflected on the faces ingrained in my memory and increasingly I struggle to match some faces with names. I guess that is the dementia setting in. I do have facial images that are set like stone in the forefront of my memory and they forever come into my minds eye, some as unwelcome images, and a few as spirit lifting smiles, one of those smiles belong to my daughter Aimee.

The people I know may read this hub blathering. The people I love will know who they are; I am making sure of that. The people I hate I will not notify. All the others I will make an effort to know better in the future. Be warned, I may invite you for a meal or take you for a pint. More probably, I will just write on your wall or send you a text.

This is my message to the people I know:

Thank you for your friendship, even when I have abused it.

Thank you for your love, even when I have not returned it.

Thank you for your tolerance, even when I have ignored it.

Thank you for your support, even when I did not value it.

Thank you for your concern, even when I did not deserve it.