Actually an "ode" is a poem so maybe instead this is a story of a friendship that began in 1963 and has lasted to this day. One might wonder why a picture of a pizza is the leading picture of this story.
Well, yesterday when Troy and I were concluding our phone conversation he said "remember those pizzas we used to make?" We could not remember the name. However on my drive home it hit me that they were Chef Boy-R-Dee (sp?) pizzas...the kind that came in a box and you added hot water to the flour and yeast, when that was ready to be made into the crust you also added your toppings...in this case it was no more than pizza sauce (from the box) and Parmesan cheese (also from the box). Please remember that this was northern Wisconsin in the mid to late 60s so the options were not abundant.
However, those pizzas were delicious. And Troy and I would devour each one with enthusiasm. Now in 2013 and living in San Francisco it is hard to imagine a time when the closest pizza parlor was 35 miles away in a town called Rick Lake...the place was called "Drag's Pizza." Which is still there I guess. No, my gay friends it was not a drag queen bar but rather named I think for the Rice Lake Dragway Races.
Anyhow, I had called Troy a couple of days earlier to let him know I had posted a recipe from his mother (Daphne) to this website. Particularly for me...as well as for him...it started a trip down memory lane, Here is my remembrance of our friendship and its start. We met in 1964 (maybe 1963) and were only 15 years old. The friendship was immediate upon meeting. It was like we communicated with each other in so many ways and on so many different levels. Well, it had lead to a friendship that has lasted over 50 years. We no longer call each other daily as we did back then and now the phone calls are usually at or around our birthdays and maybe at Christmas. Yet, I can say even so that after all these years that whenever I pick up the phone and I hear Troy's voice I begin to smile and within moments of the conversation, I am laughing.
The following anonymous quote sums up true friendship:
"What is a friend? I'll tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can go naked with him. He seems to ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you really are.
"When you are with him, you do not have to be on guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you.
"He understands those contradictions in your nature that cause others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely - you can avow your little inanities and envies and absurdities, and in opening them up to him, they are dissolved in the white ocean of his loyalty.
"He understands. You can weep with him, laugh with him, pray with him and through and underneath it all he sees, knows, and loves you." ~ Anonymous
And...here is a small picture gallery:
Well, yesterday when Troy and I were concluding our phone conversation he said "remember those pizzas we used to make?" We could not remember the name. However on my drive home it hit me that they were Chef Boy-R-Dee (sp?) pizzas...the kind that came in a box and you added hot water to the flour and yeast, when that was ready to be made into the crust you also added your toppings...in this case it was no more than pizza sauce (from the box) and Parmesan cheese (also from the box). Please remember that this was northern Wisconsin in the mid to late 60s so the options were not abundant.
However, those pizzas were delicious. And Troy and I would devour each one with enthusiasm. Now in 2013 and living in San Francisco it is hard to imagine a time when the closest pizza parlor was 35 miles away in a town called Rick Lake...the place was called "Drag's Pizza." Which is still there I guess. No, my gay friends it was not a drag queen bar but rather named I think for the Rice Lake Dragway Races.
Anyhow, I had called Troy a couple of days earlier to let him know I had posted a recipe from his mother (Daphne) to this website. Particularly for me...as well as for him...it started a trip down memory lane, Here is my remembrance of our friendship and its start. We met in 1964 (maybe 1963) and were only 15 years old. The friendship was immediate upon meeting. It was like we communicated with each other in so many ways and on so many different levels. Well, it had lead to a friendship that has lasted over 50 years. We no longer call each other daily as we did back then and now the phone calls are usually at or around our birthdays and maybe at Christmas. Yet, I can say even so that after all these years that whenever I pick up the phone and I hear Troy's voice I begin to smile and within moments of the conversation, I am laughing.
The following anonymous quote sums up true friendship:
"What is a friend? I'll tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can go naked with him. He seems to ask you to put on nothing, only to be what you really are.
"When you are with him, you do not have to be on guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you.
"He understands those contradictions in your nature that cause others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely - you can avow your little inanities and envies and absurdities, and in opening them up to him, they are dissolved in the white ocean of his loyalty.
"He understands. You can weep with him, laugh with him, pray with him and through and underneath it all he sees, knows, and loves you." ~ Anonymous
And...here is a small picture gallery:
graduation picture
15 years old and celebrating with pop/soda. LOL
A very bleary pictures of the two of us...taken in my parent's yard by his very bratty sister (Melinda)...see the shadow to the left of me. Melinda went on to be an extremely successful business woman and now resides in Chicago. BTW, I am the short one on the left and Troy is the tall one on the right.
My mother and Troy's mother, Daphne Clark...picture take in front of the Kentucky state capitol building in 1968. I think this is the only picture I have of Daphne and I am sorry it is not very sharp.
My mom and I...this picture is also from the time we were in Kentucky.
As Troy said yesterday: "It was all so long ago." Yet, as I now sit here reflecting...it was only yesterday...and I conclude with a very old photo from my parent's home.
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