Left to my own devices

It's true that I've devoted a lot of time on this blog to friends, family and neighbors who are no longer with us. That's probably not too uncommon, as it's a fallibility of human nature that we don't tend to overly-gush about the living. We wait until they're dead, then eulogize them. That's all well and good for those who are still around, but kinda sucks if you've already snuffed it. Pondering over the aforementioned thoughts made me realize that it's better late than never to show an appreciation for those who've made a difference in my life, both in the past and in the present. In fact, today falling smack dab as it does between two stellar people's birthdays (Terry's yesterday, Amanda's tomorrow) has prompted me to undertake a little written appreciation of them. Two folks whom I'm fortunate enough to count as friends.

I missed this weekend's Gay Pride events. That makes twelve years in a row. Seriously, I haven't partaken of any pride events since 2000. That June I traveled up to Chicago with Jeromy and Scott, and another young fellow whose name I honestly can't remember. He and I had met in a local gay chat room. He was pretty, someone I'd never dreamed would be interested in giving me the time of day, but life sometimes throws you pleasant surprises. We had a brief, but fun, weekend together, and then never saw each other again. No drama. We simply went our separate ways. So it goes.