It’s the friends you can call at 4 am that matter.

"It's the friends you can call at 4 am that matter..." 

It’s funny, because I’ve quoted that line from Marlene Dietrich before during readings. I’ve thought a lot about this saying and I have to say that I disagree.  Anyone who knows me can call with some emergency at 4 am:-  my next door neighbors can knock and say they have to go to hospital,  can I look after their son - and of course I would do it.  Any friend out and about and in danger and need in the wee small hours can call.  4 am implies some sort of emergency, some sort of crisis.

For me, it’s the friends you can call at 4 PM that matter – those you call when there is no emergency, no outward urgency, and you can tell them the difficult, ordinary truth of the moment.  The people you can call when you have that feeling of being boring, or frumpy or ugly or unloved and say, I hate myself today, and they remind you why they love you – they are the friends that matter!