2ndclepunkbuddha

 Found out earlier this week that a guy I went to junior high school with has died by name of Jon. He was quite a character, one that I think few truly knew and/or appreciated. Going back quite a few years now, to the late 1980s. It was a different world then... We were still in The Cold War, fearing our Russian neighbors and in the midst of the Iran-Contra Affair. Marcos and his wife Imelda (owner of thousands of pairs of shoes) would be ousted from the Philippians. Regan was in his second term, Gorbachev was in Russia (later to be named one of the Three Corpses). The space shuttle Challenger would explode in midair seconds after liftoff. Top Gun would be the highest grossing box office movie behind Crocodile Dundee, the golden age of sit coms / NBC would boast the showmanship of The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls and Cheers and Night Court, as would ABC with their classic Miami Vice (I tried watching that show even at that tender age and didn't get it, but the fashions were ok I gu...

 A buddy of mine had posted something rather shocking the other day.  It was quite simple, it said "BRB getting married".  This shocked me and others, since when was he attached to any woman at all let alone tying the knot with someone?  I sent him a PM saying "Are you kidding?"  He said "No, I really am".  After some time had progressed and he had a few minutes, he told me the story.  He told me part of the story when we left on a cabin in the woods weekend a few years ago.  He told me the story of this woman, that they had dated for four years, ending when she moved away to another state for a job.  He said she was the love of his life, he moved on as he had no choice in the matter but to do so.  In the fall of 2023, said woman moved to Cincinnati for another job, then apparently they reconnected, then they decided they were going to get married after all.  And she insisted that they do it quickly, so batta boom, batta bing, they ...

  I was sitting on the steps of the choir room’s bleachers with a script and a notebook in my hand writing away.   When I am alone, people would usually see me doing this because freestyle writing is what makes me most happy, so that’s not a huge surprise.   For all they knew I was writing out grocery lists, a string of errands to run, my next great manifesto or taking notes on others before me.   What would surprise others, if they looked a bit more closely, is that I was shaking.   My whole body was, it was very subtle, only a highly trained individual would be able to see it.   I was semi curled up like a boiled shrimp, my head lower than it usually would be, and my body was closing itself up.   Why?   Because I was afraid, borderline terrified, and trying not to show it.   Then again, this is how I usually am as I white knuckle myself through most days.   This particular day, however, was more challenging than most to my already frag...

 His name was not this, but that was his moniker in many forms.  His name was Malcom Ryder.  One of the more profound individuals who ever made an impression in our city, as well as in my life story.  He was a complicated person, as was our relationship, but that is usually the case with many.   It was the late 90s and I had returned to my fair city having freshly graduated from college and about to start my official adult life, a 90s hipster post grunge child.  I entered Corporate America and got my first real job, as I would expect anyone in the same position to acquire.  What one does not anticipate when one is adapting to this change is the isolation and loneliness, yet coming into your own during the first year as one is adapting to the change of life going from a kid / full time student to that of being a working adult.  Many days are like the move Groundhog's Day, but one must not complain about it as this is, as one would find out, ho...