My Friends

For those of you who don't know me, I'd like to introduce you to some of the people I call my friends. Being single, my friends play an important role in my life, and I'd be a pretty miserably dude without them. Let me acknowledge them here, and all they've done for me.

For those of you that do know me, I've probably created a page just for you, right there on the left (like you didn't see it). So, what are you readin' this for?

Anyway, these guys aren't rich, or famous, or even particularly handsome, but they're all very special to me, in one way or another. I'm a very rich man with them in my life. So, let's meet them, shall we?

Doreen has been an undying friend since my Marine Corp days, which means that she knew me when I was really a geek. How she ever took a liking to me in a town full of rude jarheads is a mystery to me, but I don't look that one in the mouth. Wherever she goes, she's always the one that keeps in touch, even when my writing lapses into months. Invaluable, I tell ya.

I grew up with this scary fella, in the hills of Santa Cruz, where we used to swim in the San Lorenzo river, cautiously avoiding the lamphray eels. Frank was the hard workin' teenager in the neighborhood, and he still is today. Although he has been known to play hard at times. Wish he lived closer. And let his hair grow. Wish I had a watermelon.

George is the guy I call my brother, maybe not by blood, but for just bein' there for me for as long as I remember. He & Frank & I were the neighborhood menaces back on the block. Hey, George, 'member when we built that 8-foot-long catapult and used to nail cars goin' by on the highway with eggs? Ah, good times, good times. He's got a wonderful family to fill his time these days (that's Jody beside him), and we don't see near enough of eachother. But I know he's there.

Jerry is an eternally smiling father that decided to move his family to a place where he could make more money and still live in the country. He's thriving, I hear, since I never hear from him anymore!

Mike & Sherri are my favorite campin' buddies, mainly 'cause Sherri does most of the cooking. We have a lot in common, especially our love of trees & nature. Mike is the most squared-away dude you'll ever meet, and I envy his methods. Too bad I won't learn from them. He can hump up & down hills all day long & not bitch about it. Amazing. If the two of them ever move away from here, I'll have to pack my bags & follow.

My good friend Marlin deserves to be on this page, since he was one of my favorites, but on August 10th 2005, Marlin left this Earth in a harsh way. He's with his mother now, and probably smiling at us fools as we toil through life. He has a couple of special pages now, one here and another here. If you see him before I do, tell him we all miss the shit out of him.

Yes, Ed, this is the only (lousy) picture I've ever gotten of you two, but it serves the purpose. Everyone can see how pretty Melissa, his wife is, and how ugly Ed is. Go figure. Not that it matters, 'cause Ed is the only fella I've met, in all my years, that gets into the depths of computing as much as I do. He's taught me more than all of my books combined (and that's sayin' a lot), especially about real-world dilemmas. Now if I can only get him to check out Corel programs...

I told you that you shoulda sent me a picture! Margaretha is a friend that I have yet to meet, but I wanted to include her here regardless. Margaretha lives in Sweden, so now I can say that I'm a continental kind of guy. I feel like I know her well, anyway, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being her willingness to talk to somebody so readily that she knows very little about. From another country, no less. She could have shined me on a long time ago, and yet she doesn't (she knows I'll stark her if she does). Yes, we have things in common, I think, that neither of us realize-yet. Plus, that name justs tickles me to no end. Margaretha. Mar-garetha. See?

These are my friends, the people that keep me up & running in this world of people stepping on each other without even noticing. They notice, and they seldom do it twice. Yes, there's more, and maybe some day you'll see more of them on this page. These guys are the core of my life, and not a day goes by that I don't think about them. People like this are what makes the world go around. And now they're immortal. Shouldn't you be so lucky? I told ya...send me money!