Tag: friends

I’m no graphics genius, but…

Saturday Tom and I had lunch with three of the eleven liberal Democrats we know in Texas, one of whom is a librarian. We talked about Rep. Gerald Allen’s attempt to remove and bury any GLBT-themed books now in the public libraries of my home state of Alabama.

I mentioned that I was envious that author Michael Holloway Perronne had sent Rep. Allen a shovel along with a copy of his book A TIME BEFORE ME. My friend Christine suggested a little photo doctoring of Timothy and me, and the result is what I like to think Rep. Allen might call “Unamerican Gothic.”

No sleeping in

I guess I’ve gotten too accustomed to getting four to five hours of sleep. It was the first day in a long time that I was supposed to be able to sleep in, and my eyes opened wide at eight a.m. Dammit.

But it turned out to be a good thing, because James unexpectedly called and asked me to go to breakfast with him. We went to Baby Barnaby’s, one of our old haunts when he lived here. I’ve probably been there only once since he moved away years ago, and it looks great! Still tiny and cozy, but new paint (the ceiling is painted very creatively in stripes; I love it), new booths… Just much tidier and crisper overall, without losing any of its old charm.

I love seeing James and talking. He may be a decade younger than I am, but we are on the same soul level and have always shared an unspoken language that makes actual talking easier. What a great person he is.

My Writing Partners

I can’t wait to see Jim and Timmy when they get here tonight. It’s been nearly two years since Tim and I saw Timmy, and nearly a year and a half since we saw Jim. Not only will we have the personal enjoyment of a reunion, but this is where ideas are born for Timothy James Beck.

Of course, Timmy’s flight was delayed. It’s always an adventure when he flies here. But still, by midnight tonight, the four writers will be together and entertaining Tom and the dogs.

James wisdom

I love my friend James so much. Yesterday we exchanged e-mails most of the morning, and the subject of some of our shared memories came up. I mentioned the “bittersweet” feeling I had when looking at old photos and he said, “Bittersweet… yeah, I use that word a lot. It’s such a complicated feeling.. sort of a comfortably sad memory moment… an unexpected perspective and yielding to the inevitability of the loss of everything we have loved. Sometimes I really hate how it makes me feel, kind of like the way I hate surrendering the day to sleep.”

I just have to love a man who expresses himself so eloquently and ALSO understands my tendency to resist going to sleep at night. I wonder if this is why Tim finds it hard to say goodbye to the day, too.

Waah

Now that my mother has moved into her own place, I’ve moved my office from Tim’s apartment back into my old space. And even though it’s nice to be home and have the dogs breathing behind me, and even though Tom made the space better than it used to be, and even though I know Tim was weary of me being in his space… I still miss it. Tim has good energy, and I appreciated being a part of his home.

Plus… that left him without online access, so he’ll have to bring his laptop here to be online. Which doesn’t bother me at all, but I know what it’s like to be displaced.

My Obsessive Pisces Friend

Steve got a new cell phone today. It will preoccupy him for several days. He will know it backward and forward, understanding all of its functions. It will rule his life. I still have a hard time looking up a programmed number in my cell phone. I’ll bet Steve was an easy kid. They just gave him a new toy and didn’t have to worry about him.

The boy likes his toys.