"With a friend to call my own I'll never be alone"

Song: Ben
Artist: Michael Jackson
Album: The Essential Michael Jackson

Right now there's a message pending in my outbox. Just a simple little text, reading "How are you feeling?" Yet, I can't decide whether to send it or not. A friend of mine is going through some stuff, and I don't even know if I'm supposed to know. I found out by a purely accidental nature, (I was doing my hair while Salem was on the phone) and I was taken aback. Well do I call him? Do I text him? Should I even bring it up, am I supposed to know?

It brings me back to the question, how do you console a friend?

Of course it depends on the person, whether the person is a really emotional person or not. How boys internalize grief rather than girls. But look through all of that, when it comes down to it, patting someone on the back and saying "Are you Okay?" is not going to cut it.

"Are you okay?" is a cookie cutter question, for people you don't know that well, and you're forced to say something. "How are you feeling?" isn't a great alternative. I know you feel really bad, you might even feel helpless, and it goes without saying you're not okay.

So what do you say?

For someone who loves to talk as much as I do, I'm truly at a loss for words, when it comes to sorrow, loss, and grief.