Who Knows What the Morning May Bring

I woke up a bit on the early side this morning and came downstairs to do the coffee and news ritual. During this time, it was revealed to me that, in the words of the Dave Bowman/Starchild, something wonderful was going to happen...

Pete called last night and we talked for quite a while. We've known each other for nearly 15 years now and lived together for several of them. Stevie kicked him out a little over a year ago and we haven't maintained strict contact. I love Pete like a brother but I won't ever live with him again. He's kind of a polarizing figure and takes a while to warm up to. His friends love him because he's smart and funny. But we also know that he's got a redneck streak and, when under the influence of the bottle, can get a bit out of control. A couple sentences obviously can't do justice to him but I think it's fair to say that, after he moved out, I took a break from him. But after our conversation last night, I realized that I'm ready to spend more time with him. I'm ready to make our friendship active again.

I laughed really hard several times during our conversation and it brought to mind that I do miss living with him in many ways. Not that I could do it again, mind you. One story he related to me involved his sister's girlfriend. Pete's sister, Claire, is wonderful. She and I get along just swell. She is a dyke and can kick Pete's ass. (And Pete is a big, burly carpenter.) So I made sure I got on Claire's good side right away back in 1990. Anyway, Pete informed me that Claire's girlfriend, Tiffany, is in the middle of a mid-life crisis - and she's only 24. During a recent alcohol-soaked night, Tiffany confided in him that she was bisexual. "I love cock," she declared. She has been calling Pete and talking with him frequently since that inital conversation. I found humor in this because Pete is your stereotypically stoic male. He finds talking about feelings anathema so I found it extraordinary that he should be lending an ear in this matter. I pictured him rolling his eyes during these marathon phone conversations or playing on his X-Box and throwing in a periodic "uh huh". Pete also related to me that he went out not too long ago with a mutual friend of ours, Lush. Lush's second child - a son - was born about 3 months ago. According to Pete, he is going stir crazy. That night he complained, "I haven't been out for eight and a half months!" And so it is obvious that I need to get a hold of him. I need to reestablish contact with him and Wendy. I need to become a part of their lives again. In order to get Lush out of the house, Pete had to promise Wendy lots of things, including a virtually unlimited amount of babysitting. I can foresee Uncles Pete and Tim looking after some young children in the near future. This may or may not be a good thing for these kids.

The moral of the story is that I need to continue to reestablish ties with my friends. I've got so many of them that I could spend my every waking hour being one or another of them. I spent much of the past year with The Dulcinea and, because I didn't want a serious relationship with her, I spent a lot of time away from my friends. That so many of them came out for my birthday on extremely short notice says a lot. It says how incredibly lucky I am.

Someone please keep me from listening to Rage Against the Machine during my morning drives. I came precariously close to some pedestrians this morning. But, as a reward for having hurt no one, I got to ogle this unnatural blonde's poop chute on my walk in.