Sunday, 02 June 2002 | Jay

On Thursday I spent my last evening alone with Jay before he moves to Portland. We had talked about getting together for years, but for years we just ran into each other and talked about getting together. We would try to catch up, but Jay's a popular boy with a short attention span, and often I would have to struggle to finish a conversation we'd started. It used to be much different, but so did everything. I know I'm going to miss him, but right now they're still just words: Jay's.moving.to.Portland. Right now he's still in town.

So on Thursday we went to the bar where we used to hang out, which has recently been remodeled and reowned and looks nothing like it used to, including the regulars. We sat in the empty back room on plush chairs and talked about a hundred things, then we retreated to his car where he excitedly introduced me to new music, and then I turned him over to the bar where those regulars had relocated, where his other friends were waiting, and where his attention span would quickly recede.

***

Tonight I finally gave in and installed my window unit air conditioner. But not before enduring 89+ degree muggy, windless air all day. It's only been running for an hour, and it's already time to give the beast a break from exhaling.