Pictures and Bonds

I was flipping through some of my old pictures. Pictures lie sometimes. When those pictures were taken, they felt like they would last forever. Half the people on those pictures I don’t even know anymore, some of them I no longer want to know. A selective few survived with me, year after year, heartache after the other, a break down or the happy news. It makes me wonder about friends and the type of events that make their bond either weaker or stronger.
Do those who survived love you more?
Do they stick around only because you know who to deal with their flaws?
Are they there because they merely enjoy your company?
Do they need to know they have someone who gets the check in case of emergency?
Do they sincerely like you?
Do they feed on your insecurities to feel better about themselves?
What makes friends friends?
What makes the bond fade away after a while and what makes it survive?

Married couples who fell in love before they were married would have tons of pictures all around the house, everyday pictures.
Couples who married for other purposes would have one picture in their reception on their wedding night.

The first born baby in the family gets the most pictures.

I never realized the number of pictures of my grandfather in my grandparents’ house until I went there one afternoon after his funeral. They all looked smiling and even more alive than before.