Happy Birthday Kent

I ran into my old buddy Kent in the locker room at the YMCA last week. Last Sunday he turned 50. I still think of us all as teenagers.

Kent and I lived together as kids. We both had single moms. I still think of his mom as Aunt Suzy.

Kent and I had a lot of adventures together. He was with me when I was molested in Forest Park as a kid and when we had a big raid at our apartment in the DeBaliviere area. I posted those stories earlier.

When we were kids living together in the West End we were in the middle of a large gay community. We were both heterosexual but that didn’t stop us from running around with guys that took us to places like the Red Bull in East St. Louis. We were minors and got in everywhere. We never paid for anything of course.

We could be very rude and maybe even a bit homophobic. We’d giggle at guys making out at the bar. We’d feign gayness. I’d call him Lance and he’d call me Trent.

The movie My Own Private Idaho reminded me very much of those days.

It’s funny who you run into at the YMCA as you stand naked in the showers. I run into lot of old friends who are turning into old men.

Several years ago I had to use the downtown Y when they were cleaning out our pool. As I showered I noticed an old man playing with himself. He was watching me. Surprisingly, it didn’t really bother me. I figured this was all he got.

On another occasion I stood naked showering with a bunch of Irish musicians who played at a local pub. Later I learned they were IRA fugitives hiding out here in the States. It’s weird to think of standing around naked with people who have actually killed.

Anyway I really wanted to give a shout out to my old buddy Kent.

Happy birthday man!

I don’t have any recent pics of Kent but this is how I still think of him. We were living in Soulard. He’s with his old girlfriend and one of my favorite people Allie Bock. I just got in contact with her through FaceBook. FaceBook has been incredible!