distracted

Hank makes passes at girls who wear glasses.

tay tay

Tay is my boon companion. We made a good go as a romance and stepped into a much better friendship a million years ago (I'm so thankful that my parents showed me that was possible). She's sharp and mean and her cat is the only mammal besides elephants that can't jump. She's a line cook, legendary in local kitchens for her skills, her humor, her loyalty, and her dedication to taking no shit. I'd tell you a few of those legends, but she'd hate me a little for it.

When something needs doing, she does it. She's working through scary medical stuff like a fucking pro. She's there if you need her, even if she's been puking all day.

Tay may be the funniest person I know, when the mood strikes her. She's saved my life a few times, and I love her.

Happy birthday, Tay. Glad you're here.

affiliation

I didn't have friends in middle and high school. Did I? One or two, but not past that. I was heavily bullied. I remember crying over McDonald's commercials that showed a group of friends hanging out. 

I did survive, I did get older, and I did fill that gap, thanks to the queer and punk scenes. I don't think I am able to consider myself popular, but I suspect that I am, at this point. But of course that kind of misery left scars (a few literal). 

Being part of a crew makes me a happy man. A contented man. Nothing makes me feel safer and more centered then being able to reach out and put my hand on a friend's shoulder, slap someone's back, touch elbows. Pull someone into a hug for no reason at all. Ruffle hair, bump knuckles, all those little physical ticks that help define us as a group. I love having a shared anthem, a song that gets us all up shouting with our fists in the air. 

That gang dynamic helps shut down that little voice that is still, decades later, whispering the back of my head that it's all a joke. That my friends are lying to me and will turn on me someday and point and ask how I could ever think it was anything but a prank. The damage remains, but it doesn't run me. I have my people.