I have about 5 friends like this. It's so strange. Several of them I only talk to about once every 4 or 5 years. But when we do talk, it's like we never parted company.

I consider each of them my best of friends. I'm much closer to any of them than I am to any of the good friends I have today. And I always refer to them as "my best friend" in conversation. Sometimes someone will ask, "But you said this other person was your best friend."

"Well, yes. So I did."