Livin' Like a Family of One: The Year of the Horse

Today is the Lunar New Year*. Some may call this the real New Year's Eve, but not I. Last year I was living in Korea at this time, and we got a few days off for this wondrous event. I remember being in bed early but hearing the festivities of my boss and his family through the walls. It sounded like they were repeatedly throwing fire wood on the ground, and occasionally this brought them great joy. I learned later that it was a form of gambling that families traditionally do. Even the kids. Seems unfair, but they all had a good time. I guess going rum-and-egg-nog for rum-and-egg-nog with your kids is pretty imbalanced too, but luckily I was a seasoned drinker by then. And they weren't my kids.

The Summer of 2001 was a strange one for me. I was fresh off my first year of college and living back at "home." I worked at the Amoco Pep Stop and hung out with Ken Bossler a lot. By virtue of that, I was getting into stuff that coulda got me in trouble. Luckily, I'm smart and Ken-whether you'd think it or not-took really good care of me. Better than he did for himself. We rode bikes a lot and played frisbee a lot. Near the beginning of August, my mind hurt a little and I decided to quit my job. It was a self-induced freak out that I blamed on narrow-minded farmers but in all honesty was just me having a hard time dealing with my chemical imbalances. So I called Cindy and asked if it would screw things up if I left and didn't come back. She gave me a sympathetic but worried "No" and after settling up my tab (approximately $25 for oatmeal cream pies), I left the store, removed my shirt and never looked back. So this set the tone for my last 3 weeks in Mt. Pleasant. There was lots of McDonald's, guitar and TV. Chandra Levy's disappearance was big news, which strangely paralleled the local Missing Person case of Mt. Pleasant's own Nicole Forshee-Syperda. I had just acquired John Frusciante's 2nd solo album "Smile from the Streets You Hold" (A Fall Thru the Ground is still one of my most haunting memories). I watched a lot of The Amanda Bynes Show and Zoom (Alisa was my favorite. I thought she was energetic and sweet). I waited until 3pm when the mail and the newspaper would come, which signaled that my friend Ryan would be home soon. I'd watch for his work van, then call him. I think it got on his nerves, but I was fine with that. I also went to Burlington once with Pam and took her to Venus' Adult Bookstore. It was her first time, and I hoped to parlay this into sex, but instead we just talked about it a bunch. Oh, and at some point in there, I severely pissed off Alea and after I made a midnight sojourn to her house and scratched on her window (I think to apologize), she lambasted me with "You're the biggest fucking prick I've ever met." While that certainly wasn't true, my behavior that night certainly warranted such a thrashing. We made up.

So yeah. Those are the things I'm reflecting on in this Saturday afternoon. That, and that today is Sam's funeral. I believe Marco is playing guitar at it and Sam has been or will be cremated. It weighs heavy on my heart, and I hope everyone can make the most of what this gives them. Goodnight, Sam.

I love all of you, but I love Marco the most.

-LS^2

* mad author of anguish's note = it wasn't really the Lunar New Year. That's this January 31. I'm sorry if this changes anything for the worse.