Numskullery

The drugs. The marijuana. The cocaine.
The tumultuous marital relationship spread across internet tabloid headlines.
The embarrassingly crooked wig.
But that voice. Oh that voice. Like angels personally carried each note to our ears.
Who could forget Whitney’s Superbowl anthem…oh wait. These are the wrong cards.

(flip through cards)

Ah. I'm sorry. Here we are.

Earlier this week Cindy asked me, “What’s the funniest thing Chris ever said to you.”
I thought about it for a couple of minutes, and for the life of me, I couldn’t remember a single funny thing he’d ever said. Not one. I think that speaks more to my sadness than to Chris’s humor, but, still, I was blank.

Chris and I chatted a lot online. He guided me through technical difficulties and laptop purchasing decisions. We chatted about what we were writing (or often, what we weren’t writing). We exchanged book recommendations and life philosophies. We talked of travel…from hiking and camping to a discussion of how Peru seems to be abroad, but Canada does not. We talked about houses in Kansas City and apartments in New York City. We talked about my roommate. In one particular conversation, I mentioned a friend as a potential new roommate. Chris said, "Is he good? And I don't mean good enough. I mean good good." We continued the talk and he listened to me vent and talked me down from my anger while making jokes and threats against my roommate. I thanked him. He said, "No problem. Easy to want good things for friends."

That's the sentence I remember.
It was impossible to sit in the same room with Chris and not be laughing. But I’m not sure what the funniest thing was. I just remember that he called me friend. Because Chris was one of the good ones. And I don't mean good enough. I mean good good.

I felt I needed to give Cindy an answer, so I said that it wasn't something he said so much as a behavior. You know the one, he'd do that Homer voice with the hands, and that ridiculous grin on his face. It got me every time. MMM....beer. MMM....boobies. And say it with me now,

(flip card)

I - I- I will always love you, oh I will always love... dang it.

(search through cards)

Here it is. Let's try that again...

MMM...beer. MMMM....boobies. MMMM....
(show card to group)
BACON.

...