a hundred degrees

Happy 35th Mr. Clark!

I have a strange tradition. On the anniversary of the birth of John Joseph Clark II, I eat at Chili's.

John and I were close friends in high school. He was a year behind me, but we were in band together and spent a lot of time in each other's company. Maybe too much time. His mother once expressed her concern to him that we might be involved in a homosexual relationship. I suppose if we had spent our time drinking and wrecking cars or tipping cows or whatever those other guys were doing that would have been less worrisome than hours of talking and reading and throwing darts and playing music and playing raquetball and flying kites and throwing discs.

John was always pretty flighty. A smart guy but unreliable. Classic "party of least interest" behavior that to some extent may explain my devotion. He was taller and more dashing than I, so chicks were available to him in ways they weren't to me. For instance, we both hung out with Julie a lot, but he got to kiss her.

When I left for college John got a job at Chili's. He told me he was drinking beer and doing stupid, partially accidental vandalism. When he went to college he really stepped up the drug usage, but he was only slightly more screwy than he had been before.

I'm not sure when I began going to Chili's on his birthday. I know that I thought of it as a tradition before I was married. Possibly it began back when I was in college, but I think I can safely say that I have been doing it for over ten years. A few years back I met John and Chris and Ern (the four of us were Commander Sloth and the Hubcaps) at Chili's. I don't remember if it was on John's birthday or just near it, but it was the only time I've actually gotten to share this tradition with the honoree.

I called and left him a message from the restaurant today and I'll repeat it here:

Happy Birthday, John! I hope all is well with you.

Posted to Interior Life at December 18, 2004 2:21 PM