I had to knock on the taxi window to get his attention. Finally, the driver, a man about 60, looked up and apologized, “I’m sorry, but I was reading a letter.”

Since I was in no hurry, I told him to finish his letter. He shook his head, explaining that he had already read it several times and almost knew it by heart. Curious, I asked whether it was from a child or maybe a grandchild. “This isn’t from my family,” he replied, “though he might just as well have been a regular member of my family. Old Ed and I grew up together.”

They were always friends. But since he moved away from the neighborhood 30 years ago, there had been generally just postcards between them. A couple of weeks ago, Ed died. “I should have kept in touch with him,” he repeated this, more to himself than to me. To comfort him, I said sometimes we just didn’t seem to find the time. “But we used to find the time,” he said. “Take a look,” he handed the letter over to me.

The first sentence “I’ve been meaning to write for some time, but I’ve always delayed it” reminded me of myself. When I read the part where it said “Your friendship really means a lot to me more than I can say because I’m not good at saying things like that”, I found myself nodding in agreement. After reading, I found it was ended with “Your Old Friend, Tom.”

“I thought your friend’s name was Ed,” I said. “I’m Tom,” he explained. “It’s a letter I wrote to Ed before he died. I never put it in the mailbox. I guess I should have written it earlier.”

When I got to my hotel room I didn’t unpack right away, I had to write a letter and post it.

Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone.

Make friendship a priority(优先). Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the lawn go unmowed(未割草) or the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can’ t get together, use the phone to keep in touch.

Open up to close friends. Maintaining a deep friendship requires a level of heartfelt intimacy(亲密). Don’t be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problem, but offer advice only when it’s wanted.             Help raise friends’ self-esteem when they are shaken by a job loss, or other such events.

Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies, singing in a choir(合唱), and joining in a bowling league.

Don’t wait for a friend to ask a favor. When a friend has the flu, offer to go to the store or drive his or her children to their after-school activities.

Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage, friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests.

Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms, or bookstores can lead to firm friendship.

Enroll in an adult-education course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests.

If you move to a new school, you’ll have to worry about whether or not you’ll make friends. Here are some simple suggestions which help you make new friends easier.

▶Try speaking to those you’re sitting next to in class. As they’re close by, it makes sense to communicate with them first.

▶If you don’t have many friends in your class, try and make new friends in class. You can also talk with them at lunchtime and after school.

▶Join a lunchtime or after school club. You’ll get chances to chat with kids of all years that way.

▶Use your “celebrity status (名人身份)”! Since you’re the new person, you’ll have gained “celebrity status”, which you can use for a couple of weeks. You should listen carefully to what others say so as to make them feel important to us.

As you grow older, it’s natural to make new friends and sometimes that means you grow apart from your old friend. So try and make time for all your friends.

But what if a friendship group is pushing you out (排斥)? If this is happening to you, try and ask someone what is happening. If the whole group is leaving you out, try to find new people to spend time with.