dancing robots

I associate people with things. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius reminds me of my best guy friend from high school, John. John was my closest friend, despite the fact that we never saw each other. We spoke for hours at a time on the computer and on the phone. Mostly on the computer. We made half-hearted attempts to hang out. I never knew how smart he was until he told me his senior year schedule. I knew he was ambitious, but I didn't know he was a genius. We bitched and complained about how much we hated high school, about how much we wanted to get out of Louisville and head to bigger places. He was debating schools like Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth. I desperately wanted to attend Northwestern. In the end he enrolled at U of L since they're practically paying him to go there, and I ended up at UK. We don't talk as much anymore, but when I was going through my books today, I thought of him.

When I listen to the Weakerthans, I think of the two people I'm pretty sure I love the most. Teresa was probably the closest thing I had to a best friend at Assumption. She was always there, always smiling, and always up to having a good time. She let me stay at her house when I was too scared to drive home, let me hang out on her kitchen floor, and went on adventures with me. She was smart, funny, religious, kind, but never too serious. I adored her family and had a crush on her brother. She introduced me to the Weakerthans, the only band I can listen to on repeat and not get sick of. I don't see much of her anymore since she goes to Notre Dame, but when I do see her, it's as though nothing has changed. We pick up where we left off, a constant conversation that's put on pause as she endures the bitter cold of South Bend, Indiana and I stay here, in Kentucky.

Then there's Brad. The one person I always feel comfortable talking to. The person I'm missing the most right now. Despite everything that happened last year, I consider him one of my closest friends. I burned him a Weakerthans cd, knowing that he'd love it. It took him awhile to actually listen to it, but to have him tell me that he loved it? Moments like that--introducing people to music and having them discover a new favorite band--make my heart swell. I love that music does that to me.

I'm listening to the Weakerthans right now. I want to tell them both that, while I know they might roll their eyes at this, I'm so glad that they exist.