A lot of people will agree that it's good to have friends of their own sex. It makes socialising so much easier. It's probably easier to find common interests. And there are no "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" kind of misunderstandings. Generally speaking, men understand men and women understand women.

But there can be disadvantages to having friends of the same sex as well, I suspect. For example, I can't speak for women, but I think that men are handicapped by their inhibitions, and by their perceptions of what's manly and what's not. Men taking notice of each other's feelings may very well be a rare thing. Men being sensitive to those feelings might be even more rare. And men talking about those feelings might be quite unique.

So what if a man could really do with a good talk about his feelings, or with some empathy, some sympathy, and some lifting of his spirits? I'm beginning to think that this man may be better off having some really good female friends. Who else can you expect to pick up on the slightest voice inflections or the smallest hints that indicate you're down or are having a hard time somehow? And, more importantly, who else can you expect to act on that?

It's probably a typical female trait to be sensitive to these things. And there are days that I'm grateful for every indication that my female friends possess this trait - regardless of how they communicate it to me, be it online or in person. I appreciate every encouraging or comforting word, whether it comes to me across many miles, or just from across the table. I value every uplifting e-mail message and every comforting hand on my shoulder.

Every man should have some of these wonderful female friends. However we communicate, ladies (and you know who you are), you're wonderful. Thank you!