Friend Zone

I will never cease to be amazed how it is that two people can go from seeing one another naked to being friends. And I don't mean "just friends" which is really code for "I no longer wish to associate with you," but actual friends who make idle chatter and are concerned with the little things like new jobs, pending vacations, furniture buying mishaps, pets and so on. It has to be a function of being over 25 (ok, closer to 30).

Now there may be instances where this friendship is the combined result of a concerted effort by one party to platonize the relationship and pragmatic resignation on the part of the other, and on paper that makes sense. But in the tangible world, off of the written page, it still strikes me as somewhat bizarre. Why do we do it? I guess it's one of the cooler of life's minor mysteries (like LA hair metal).