1966

[billeyler]

This morning I opened my personal email to find a nice note from my longest term friend, Robin Bastian. I had completely lost touch with him after a visit to England in 1994; we were both going through very rocky times then, and the visit ended up with my first full-blown atrial fib episode. He was in the process of ending a very dysfunctional relationship, and my 15 year one had ended the prior October. We've never been intimate, other than childhood friendship.

Both Robin and I were kids with military move-around-the-country-fathers when we met in Mrs Peak's English class in the Fall of 1966...two very out of place 12 year olds with no other friends, and we bonded quickly. Of course, neither of us knew it at the time, but we'd both come out as gay at about the same time, living two completely different lives.

Although losing touch with each other seems to be the norm over the years, I'm glad that a recent internet search brought me to an thesis he had done about textile conservation in 2003 or so. I contacted his university on a whim, and they forwarded my note on to him.

Robin (he goes by Rob now, in the same way I no longer go by Billy) now lives in Dresden Germany and is a textile conservator at a museum there. He mentioned he's married to a German, but since he didn't elaborate whether the spouse is male or female, he could only leave me guessing! I'm suspecting a female, since he hinted at leaving a lot of his old life behind.

Rob is (or was) a talented artist, linguist, and writer...I always felt like a clod around him, having no special talents. But he liked me, and I liked him, so have always been happy we had that early touchstone of a friendship.

Comments

Np special talents?

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

...having no special talents.

I admire you an awful lot for someone talentless. So I guess I have bad taste.... harrumph.

Re: Np special talents?

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Sorry...I wasn't clear on that!

We only lived in the same town for a year and a half, and his family was transferred to Phoenix, his dad still being in the Air Force. We were nearly inseparable for that time, and his early talents were coming out very quickly. I was just a skinny, gawky, shy, repressed adolescent with some brains but no outward signs of doing anything interesting.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I found some interests that I could make into satisfying hobbies!

One tidbit it that when he lived in Bossier, his family lived on GAY street.

Re: Np special talents?

[allanh.livejournal.com]

I was going to slap you for that "no special talents" comment, but Curtis beat me to it.

You have plenty of special talents. At least, the ones I've witnessed. Some of your special talents, I'll need to take on faith (and by witnessing Danny's beaming smile).

Re: Np special talents?

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

Oh, so you were also an awkward, geeky kid. Okay, you can hold onto your self-image problem, just keep it to yourself. ;-)

[abqdan.livejournal.com]

oh oh... not another born again Christian I hope!

[bearfuz.livejournal.com]

*slaps Billy for claiming to have no special talents*

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Guess I have to clarify...at 12 years of age, I had no special inclination toward anything that remotely resembled "talent," whereas Robin was already an accomplished drawer and wrote great prose. He inspired me.