...Happy Birthday to a dearly missed friend.

Tomorrow, September 28th, is my friend, Devonian's birthday. He's the boy in the above picture.

I miss Devon. I haven't seen Devon for over a year now, and that is just wrong.

I met Devon at Glenville State College in West Virginia. He basically came up to me and decided that he was going to be my friend. At first I thought..."Ummm, you're kinda weird, kid." And he was! He had piercings on his eyebrows and lip and he had those earrings that stretched your earlobes out. He also had tatoos and he wore a lot of black and his hair was all asymmetrical, shaved on one side and long on the other and he had a goatee. He also had a foul mouth on him and he didn't shy away from conflict. Definitely not someone I would usually hang out with. To be honest, I didn't really know what to do with him. He kept showing up at my table at the cafeteria, and he would come sit beside me at concerts. The usual people I sat with kinda looked at him strangely and I just shrugged.

And then something strange started to happen. Devon and I started to talk. And talk, and talk. He had a lot to say, and most everything that came out of his mouth made sense. We would talk about politics and religion and relationships and bigotry and racism. I learned that we had a lot of the same philosophies. It was so refreshing to talk to someone that was more liberal than most other people attending Glenville, WV. Before I knew it, Devon and I were pretty much spending all our time together.

Devon would tell me things about his life, and I swear, I thought he was lying. But you know what? Devon doesn't lie. I learned that about him. He always told the truth. He was brutally honest about things. If people pissed him off, they knew it, because he told them. I admire that. His life stories were amazing! And the kid was only 22 years old.

Another thing about Devon was that he was/is a very passionate person. Something would set him off, some injustice, and he would go on these rants. They were very entertaining. I would sit back and watch him go. He would use language that would make a sailor blush, but with Devon, it was just how he talked, and for some reason, it didn't offend me. Others around us would get uncomfortable, but I would just sit there and giggle quietly. He was like pure energy, he was the Energizer Bunny! He would literally bounce off the walls.

Something else about Devon. He was/is willing to do anything for his friends. Here is the best example I have to illustrate why I love the guy. I was doing my oral exam, the one that if you fail, you don't get your degree, exam. I was scheduled to go in the early evening. I was the only one in the building with the two instructors grilling me. After an hour and a half, it was done. Whew! When I walked out the door, there, sitting on the floor, in the hallway, was Devon. He had been waiting for me the entire time. He jumped up, gave me a hug and congratulated me. How sweet is that?

So, my last month at Glenville was totally fun, and it mostly had to do with Devon. He, and my other dear friend, Mary Sue, who deserves her own post btw, made life at Glenville, away from my family, bearable.

So, here's to my best friend, Devon! Happy Birthday! I love you and miss you and hope you are having a good year in Glenville.

My promise to you, on your birthday, is that I will get you up to Canada as soon as possible. I'm saving up the airline points as we speak!

Smooches!