Tyler Perry - as prophet?

Tyler Perry, playwrite, director, actor and author is, IMHO, one of the funniest and most talented men in the business. He has a slew of movies he's written
but I prefer, the filmed stage plays. The reality of theatre is you never know what will happen during a play - which is just like life. You just never know what will come at you.

So I was watching, MADEA GOES TO JAIL (Perry plays Madea, a hilarious pot-smoking, gun toting grandmother with a whacked sense of humor and a very strong sense of family - in all of Perry's work there is a deep gospel element) and I was contemplating my bellybutton...sorry, wrong dream.

I was thinking about friendships. Lately it seems that a few of my friends have done lost their minds and I was debating one of life's most difficult lessons, at what point do you cut off a potentially explosive relationship?

I'd put MADEA GOES TO JAIL in the DVD player and was lauging myself silly - Perry is brilliant, did I mention that? There is actually a part in the play where Madea talks about relationships and she made the statement, 'There are three kinds of friends, leaves, branches and roots.' Leaves are the ones that toss in the wind and come and go like bad weather. They're the ones that you'd go out and party with but they'd leave you stranded if they found a better proposition.

Yeah, we all know those.

Branches are the friends who are weak and they bend in the breeze. They want to help but every time they let you down when you need them. They are usually self-centered and they lack a spine when the chips are down.

Then come the roots. These are the ones that are in it for the Long Haul. They grow deep and they hold you up when you need it, strap you down when you act out, and they hang tight no matter what the circumstance. Everyone needs at least one root in their life.

Most of my friends are branches and leaves - but I have some roots, at least eight come to mind. Debbie, Cheyenne, Carol, Lorraine, Libby, Kat, Tim and my dearest Dano. How I love them all - they've kept me sane and smacked me in the butt when I needed it and cheered me on when I didn't. They've been there for the good and the bad - that's what a root is all about.

So tell me about your roots.