Getting acquainted with old friends

Hi guys,
Its been a long time since I was here , doing what I am doing , this time around no one asked me why I am not writing or some did but not as frequently anyway.....

Well here is something that came to mind, have you ever had the feeling or sensed that you know a person well , really well for a considerable length of time? and once you got comfortable with that you started getting thoughts doubting that very feeling?

I have , for instance I have friend , a childhood friend , nothing to do with my profession just an old friend , haven't been in touch for sometime a very long time and wondered what is going on in his life ? thought : 'call him today' , did not, some time passes, again " call and see whats happening there" , never happened, this sequence happens many times over, suddenly I get a message from a common friend,who lives in another city, saying the guy has  had an accident and is in some distress, gulp, I struggle to find a way to contact him as I don't have his address , have two or three numbers listed under his name in my phone list. I do get in touch ultimately, fearing what the reactions are going to be having known that he is in hospital ,undergone major surgery , this could get really nasty for me and its well deserved, I start by speaking to him on the phone and he is as cheerful as ever and as I remember him , I then muster and some strange courage and real misplaced confidence and say , " what the hell is wrong with you man ? I don't hear from you all these years and when I do , its news like this...." he says " Sorry for that " and continues in his own very friendly way , the way I remember .....

A couple, very near dear friends  , with whom we could share news good or bad and maybe even gossip about a few friends, common ones,  good friends period.
 They had issues as it happens for almost everybody , we tried to help , in a jiffy we were made aware of our places in their lives , we practically are neighbours , we never meet , never have calls returned , we never receive any calls, come to think of it they never really called us , we called them .......

A friend , who I thought was really different and kept my distance , he did too , we were friends nonetheless, he has had some experiences that has changed his outlook towards me and his change has been a very warm and welcoming , I have  come to know him as a reliable and loyal friend........

A friend , who I had a lot of fun with being in the same profession, who I thought the world of , who I thought was a very close and good friend , a fight broke between some common friends and I found myself on the other end of the stick , we have not been ' friends' since......

all these are really, really old friends...........

point being made , do we know our friends ? are they friends or acquaintances?  well experiences teach us what we need to do and how we need to behave , at least socially ,
having said this.......here is a question that comes to mind , will I be able to make a new friend?........
Just thoughts......................