My brother turned me down, of course. Said my email upset him. His reply upset me, but I didn't respond, bec. I knew I "asked for it" when I asked for his help. I feel I have made a mess of just about every relationship in my life.

I have two old friends. I am not the "best friend" of either of them. They each have an even older tried-and-true female friend who has stood by their side through evening. One of these pairs live in apartments in the same building. The other has taken in her childhood pal who is ill.

I never invested myself into building this kind of strong friendship for myself. I guess I don't know how, that I don't have good interpersonal relationship skills. Or I am selfish and self-absorbed. I don't know. What I do know is that now that I am in a jam, I have no one. Like other people on these forums. Like Justy who is in her car somewhere, and that worries me a lot. No one playing short stop for us.