parachute pals
Friends who can be counted on to "catch you as you fall" and/or "ease your descent" --- i.e., they'll always "be there for you" during times of emotional distress, offer helpful ideas/cautions, etc.
Anytime an on-line "friend" whom I have not met yet (and therefore I cannot be sure if that person is reliable or "for real") invites/requests/allows me to go and meet him somewhere, I always peruse the map to see if any of my "parachute pals" happen to live in that same general area, and if so, I call them up first to ask if I may make a "secondary journey" over to visit them for a while if the person whom I was going to meet during my "primary mission" is either a no-show or not sociable/reasonable to me... it helps make the trip not be a total waste of time and travel-expenses, plus I'll have a shoulder to cry on and soothe me in my humiliation and disappointment at my failed attempt to cultivate a new friendship.