Happy Birthday, Jimmy

Today is Jimmy's birthday. He would have been 14, or 56. He was born on Feb 29 so it was always a joke that he only had a birthday every four years.
Jimmy was my first "boyfriend" if I can use that term euphemistically. He lived in the same dorm as I did and we hung out, got drunk and high together and eventually, he became my first lover, which, if you can actually use that term when you're still in your teens (barely).

After college we stayed in touch off and on, then eventually lost track of each other, until I saw his obit, which I guess is more than 10 years ago now-- maybe even 20. I don't know how he contracted HIV, and it doesn't really matter. All I know is that he's gone.

Other firsts with Jimmy included learning how to drive stick shift in his old VW bus and establishing the habit of going to two movies in one day.

I'm doing a training ride this Saturday, and I'll be thinking of Jimmy a lot during this ride.