47

Today, Randy and I hung out 7 years ago. He was finally starting his terminal leave from the Air Force, and retiring back in the States. He was happy as could be.

I called this the "Long Lost Weekend". If you've ever seen those stupid "Hangover" movies, the weekend was very similar to that.

A lot of alcohol. A lot of hi-jinks.

Randy also smoked a joint for the first time in forever. He was wearing a Rastafarian hat with faux dreads, laughing his ass off as he got baked. He was truly free once again.

It was during this weekend that I figured that I could finally "surface"; like a submarine that had been submerged for too long, I could finally come up and breathe again. No longer stay under the radar. Within a few months, I too would start my terminal leave, and there wasn't a goddamned thing the assholes in the Air Force could do about it. It was truly liberating.

Tonight I'll drink a shot of apple vodka in Randy's memory. Hanging out with him was the best birthday gift I could receive. Such memories are priceless.