No matter how nice and accommodating you may be toward friends and family, you can't control their loyalty towards you. Never expect that just because you act a certain way toward someone, they'll immediately turn around and reciprocate. In a perfect world, everyone would be disposed to scratching our back when we scratch theirs, but there are no guarantees in life. Some people are takers far more than they are givers. They're out to benefit themselves and pay little attention to the plight of those they have the audacity to call a friend or loved one. Especially telling is when they vanish into thin air upon learning that someone needs help. A good person sticks by through thick and thin. Of course, we all have obligations -- work, children, community service, and the like -- that may prevent us from getting as deeply involved as we'd like. But if we're fed every excuse in the book for why a person can never be there for us, it starts to feel dising...