Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Nearly 20 years ago, this is how we both looked:



This was taken about half an hour before my wedding ceremony. Should I mention that we were huge into WCW at the time and were big fans of The Road Warriors? Smitty was the best man...of which, he reminded us continually on that long weekend.

We've known each other since we were eight. I was pretty much the "6" or "4" to his "3" when double plays were turned (Diner patron Hal was always the "5" in that equation, I was the middle-infield variable). When we golfed at Oak Mountain State Park, he was always more consistent, with lots of fives. I was more like a "9" and then "4." When we ran with the cross country team, I could run 8 miles in about an hour...he'd take a break at the one mile mark and then start the run back to the school after he saw us pass. The cross country coach used to yell, "SMITTY...YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE RUNNING WITH A PIANO ON YOUR BACK." We skipped class together. We spent time talking about relationship issues, him with Jodie and me with Lolly. We had study hall with Mr. Moore (the choir teacher) in which we walked in every day singing the commerical song to a kids game called Mr. Mouth). After gradaution we went to the beach together and he made a tape of nothing but one song for the 4-hour drive down: "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo. We got kicked out of the hotel room, but he talked us back in--he was good at that kind of stuff (re: talking crap).

We went off to Auburn together...and it continued on like that for three more years. He never joined our fraternity but somehow wound up at most every party or event. At our college, you just signed up for English classes by the hour you wanted it and they assigned you to a classroom/teacher...and we both made B's in English 103 (poetry) because we'd get giggles when our 24-year-old teacher's assistant explained the imagery that was sexual in nature (it didn't help that the teacher was smokin' hot). He snuck a beer into a Friday afternoon at 4PM on-campus reading for extra credit (which we both needed to get that "B") and opened the can during the applause...even the smokin' hot teacher made eye contact from across the room and laughed. The conversations moved from the old high school girlfriends to the girls we would eventually marry.

We stood at each other's weddings...

...then life happened. Moves. Promotions. Kids. The works.

The great thing about living in Dallas is that the company he works for is based in the area and we get together as often as time allows when he flies in. Yesterday, I picked him up at the airport and we laughed about the kind of stuff listed above and got caught up on the moves, promotions, kids, wives & works.

And I got a cell phone photo before I dropped him off at his hotel...I knew I'd want a "before & after" at The Diner today.



And, just so you're aware...

...it took me 22 minutes to get him from closing the door & seat belted until a beer was in front of him. He timed it.

...and just to taunt Hal, we speaker-phoned from the restaurant explaining what was going on while he was at work.

Nearly 30 years of friendship is pretty cool, if you're asking.