The virtues of Ignorance; a my friend Marty adventure

I used to write about the “comical” misadventures my friend Marty used to get in, and attempt to make his drunken misadventures seem less repellant than they actually were. As I have gotten older, the typical oddities of his behavior seem less funny and more sad, I think that is the perspective age adds to our understanding and the glaring weakness of his character is becoming too hard to ignore.
Last time I wrote about my friend Marty’s insistence that he could pay his tag renewal whenever he felt like it. As of this writing he still hasn’t paid for it, and now after blowing his last 200 dollars on a Yoda backpack, a cheeseburger wallet, videogames, and burning all of his income tax return on magic beans; is depressed by the fact he has blown all his money and still hasn’t renewed his tag. At least I hope that was the tone I read in his voice when I talked to him, but I think that I am ascribing to much self awareness to his predicament. I think that there is an element to my friend Marty that is self aware, but it is a little kernel buried under a deep layer of self denial. I am sure that he is aware that he has problems but he isn’t willing to say that the cause of his problems is his irresponsibility.
Case in point, I talked to him today and he seemed mad about the fact that his car insurance had sky rocketed. Now I made the mistake of letting him rant and he wanted me to feel that he was being screwed by the big bad insurance company. I then made the mistake of trying to use logic, which made him even madder. How dare I remind him that his insurance rate only shot up because he got a couple of tickets for driving without his seat belt being fastened; see in his world that is not his fault, he’s a regular Billy Jack fighting for the little man. Except that the battle he is fighting is incredibly stupid, but I try not to get in the way of other peoples delusions, after all I delude myself into thinking I am particular witty and good with words. He hung up on me after feeling that I wasn’t being suitably sympathetic to his plight.
I got to thinking, I said that I could do better about the women I date and I think I could do better about the people I keep. I like Marty on some level, we had some good times, but I don’t treat my friends like after thoughts and I really get sick of being treated like one. I think the core friends that I do have for the most part like me, and are concerned about seeing me fulfill my potential; conversely I feel that way towards them. I’m not the kind of person who sends an email to a “friend” asking them why the hell they keep sending texts and emails, I’m not the type of person who ignores phone calls, and I certainly try not to blame the world for all my misfortune (newsflash, I tend to blame myself). I value the assortment of personalities and perspectives I have surrounded myself with, hell at the very least they make life interesting- I just wish other people felt that way.