Who Is My Top Five?

Not A Primrose Path

One of my friends fell while we walked a few days ago, and has wisely decided to take a few days to heal up well. There's just the two of us walking right now, which changes the conversational pattern a bit.

I drove for FEEST and tinkered around the house. Staying focussed without the structure of work is a new challenge, but it's one I would have faced in retirement anyway, so it's nice to have the time to practice. I have been thinking about the advice (from Darren LeCroix) that as speakers we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time around. This concept may apply to other things as well. I have my walking buddies and my Toastmaster friends and occasional WPTL contacts and ... not much time with the neighbors really, and I never really bonded with the people at work or my bio-family. I don't know that I have a top 5.
The concept works in the opposite direction as well: negative people.
Recently yet another angry brother raged at me on Facebook for disagreeing with him when he posted things which were obviously false, and seems to have cut me off. On the whole, I'm better off this way although I would have preferred to maintain the contact.
This bothered one of my nephews, who had the same thing happen at the same time, so we commiserated a little and I found myself in the role of the Unce With More Experience. It's something I must accept for although I still feel young and inexperienced compared to many, I have the job so I must do it, and forget about the Imposter Syndrome.
It's a little like my "Audience Is Part Of The Presentation" speech. I have to figure out my limits and research around them.