judecorp | Mar. 5th, 2002

Where has the time gone? I remember so many things, and I forget when they occurred. They are all one big whirlwind blur of how much I love you, how much I've enjoyed every minute you've been in my life. Sometimes the only thing that gives me an inkling of when-ness is the color of your hair, or where we were living.

I remember when you introduced me to Bar Harbor. I remember when I introduced you to Black 47. I remember when you introduced me to David Reilly. I remember when I introduced you to Byron.

I remember tulips and windmills. I remember the sea wall and the grey foam. I remember the Blue Beetle and the Road Runner and the LIRR. I remember the Maine license plates, "SMURFY" and "RIZZO41." I remember Suffolk #612B, and Providence House.

I remember the pirate ship and Penny and the witch ball and the cows and the Langoliers tshirt and Clyde and Dot Man and Gustavo and the seven dwarfs and John Clancy.

I remember Clue and Naked Gun and Little House and The Breakfast Club and It and The Brady Bunch and Lifetime movies and Kindred: the Embraced and Days of Our Lives and General Hospital. I remember naming one of our anoles "Corinthos." I remember Kids in the Hall and Dr. Demento's videos.

I remember trips to the City to take holiday photos and to eat at Jeckyll & Hyde's and to hit up the TKTS booth for day-of-show sales and to comment on the porn titles in Times Square and to look for hair dye and to find Joe Eye's advertisement and to wander in the Village and to kiss Larry for the first time and to meet people with "slight Asian features" and to go to museums and to show friends around.

I remember excursions in Maine to the Penobscot Theatre and to the coast and to your childhood home, and I remember the words on your bedroom walls. I remember bus trips to Rhode Island with your father's truck in my dad's driveway. I remember those Greyhound bus rides that never seemed to end as they passed through Waterville and Auburn.

I remember the day you stood beside me while I cried, when you held me through indecision and helped me get through such seething anger. And I remember how beautiful you looked while you stood there, at my side, my constant support. I remember the way you made my father laugh, and I remember the way you kept your cool. I remember going with you to get sized for your dress, and looking at pictures, and making choices.

I remember our huddled spaces, our silent communication, our media language, our constant companionship, our secret smiles, our quiet hugs, our vibrancy.

I remember, sometimes wistfully and sometimes longingly, but always with a smile.

I remember your 19th birthday, Jodie Lyn. And now it is your 27th, and what I remember most of all is that I love you. Happy Birthday to my best friend.