MARCH MOVIE MANIA Pt. 3

March 22, 1983

Today is Tuesday. It seems strange to be back in the swing of things again after my week long vacation last week. I did have a good time.

The fun all started Sunday night when Doug Cross and I went out for his birthday. We had Chinese food at the Bamboo Pavillion. Ooo OOoo Good! Then we saw Trenchcoat and then we toured the Hyatt Regency and the Anatole Hotels. I really like the Anatole. I had never been there before. It’s decorated in a lot of plush greens. (Of course, i would like it.)

March 24, 1983

Oh, I don’t have time to write about every little thing I did, but I CAN say some interesting things occurred. I did everything from paddle boating in White Rock Lake with Randy, Kevin and Roger. (It was so good to see Roger again.) I went to Six Flags on Wednesday with Doug (it occurred to me after I got to Six Flags that it was the day that Alex died three years ago.) I even had gone to Six Flags that day.

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Anyway, I saw Gone With the Wind and Wizard of Oz and Sunset Boulevard that week. (Three of my favorite movies.)

Now for Thursday night, St. Patty’s Day (the 17th.) Roger, Kevin, Donna, Marty, Randy and a few others went to Magoo’s. We were there waiting on Adda and Kim and some of their friends. We waited 2 hours for a table to no avail. Finally, Kim and Adda came (still no table) and we all decided to leave and go to Shakey’s. (I was around Roger the whole time.) We truly felt comfortable as before. I was quite relieved. Anyway, as we were leaving we met up with Kim’s other part of her group which of all people included Barry Johnson and who else but Randall. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen him. I walked by them and lightly slugged each in the stomach (playfully.) Randall grabbed ahold of me and hugged tightly and wouldn’t let go. He made a comment about my suede jacket. While stroking it, he said “I always did like that jacket.” Barry then hugged me and after he let go he said “How are you doing?” I said “GREAT!” in the real zesty sort of way I have. And then Barry said something quite strange. “Are you really?” In a very unsure way. (Almost as if he expected me to be doing poorly or be unhappy. Maybe, because of Randall.) Then he said “Well, you look great, of course you always do.” Which was very sweet. I felt very uneasy until we all parted ways at Shakey’s. But Randall and Barry didn’t sit with all of us, they sat by themselves, which I found very odd. When Donna suggested to go to Magic Time Machine, everyone said “Great!” except Randall and he said no. Barry said “Well, I guess I’ll stay with Randall.” You could tell he really wanted to go. Maybe Randall felt very uncomfortable being around me. Who knows? Guys. What problems. I waved goodbye to them and was very friendly and off I whisked with Roger and Kevin and Larry Lewis to MTM.

I danced with Roger almost all night. I danced a few dances with guys that were there at the MTM, and one dance with Larry, but all the rest with Roger. It was kind of like old times. I still wish he weren’t gay. We have so much in common. Oh well.

MARCH 28, 1983

Monday

I had a great weekend. I went to the lake cabin for the first time since about September or so. And back then I had gone with DeeAnn and we stayed in most of the time. But this time, Mom, Dad, Mike Burton and his wife, Doris, and Barbara (Mom’s secretary,) all went also. They were all a lot of fun, and since Mom and Dad had company, that gave me a little time to get out by myself some.

Saturday, I got out for about 1 ½ hours, and went to my old, favorite spot, the watermelon patch. (I even wrote a short prose on it once.) That the place where Tracy Delk and I used to go a lot. IT’s really nice up there. Well, I walked up the path until I reached the open field (where the watermelons used to be) and breathed deeply. I looked aroundfor quite a while and then a song burst out loud and clear. “Amazing Grace,” a few Italian arias and “A Cockeyed Optimist.” Oh, that was fun. I could sing as loud as I wanted and the only thing hearing me were the trees and the birds. Beautiful! After that, I felt rejuvenated.

I also got to visit with Chet and Janie for a while. They ate hamburgers with us and then we all went to their house. Mom, Janie, and Barbara played Scrabble while Mike, Doris and I played the player piano. That sure brought back a lot of memories. Especially when I played “You’ve Got A Friend,” the song that Mark, Tracy and I sang on the way back from Tyler that lovely day about… gosh… five or six years ago. (It seems like last year.) Ho Hum! That was the day I saw my dream house for the first time. You know, the McClennan House in Tyler with the gingerbread trim. Oh, I love that house. After listening to a lot of songs that took me back in time to either the time I had a crush on Mark or when I dated Tracy, I got my nerve up to ask Janie how either of them were. Janie said Mark and Gay (his wife) are doing fine. They’re living outside of Houston still and she’s still dancing, and he’s in air conditioning. (What a waste of talent.)

I then asked if she’s heard anything from Tracy. The last she heard (about 2 weeks ago) was that he was living back in Quitman working for his dad again in the oil business. (He told me once he hated that job.) When we were dating, I had talked him into going to school. He was majoring in photography, and he got a job in Tyler working at Sears Photography Studio. I was so proud of him. But now, he’s back at working in dirt and oil junk. I’m sure the pay is better, but the fact is… he’s too talented for that, and he hates it. Oh well! I can’t run their lives for them. Even though I know what they have to offer. Oh, enough on that. (I guess it’s a good thing we never got too serious, I couldn’t live with a man who came home greasy every night. A photographer I could live with, and be proud of.)

(2021 comment - Tracy ended up going after his dream and is now and has been… a photographer for Lifetouch in Tyler, TX - Whoo-hoo!! In fact, he actually got his Photography degree in 1981. -- sorry if was just a bit rough.)

Well, I’ve got some neat news. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before about the guy on the bus, Tim Moorman, who has drawn me a picture of a koala bear, (I have it on my desk.) Anyway, I’ve seen him quite a bit since, to be exact, my birthday. (2 months to this day.) I saw him on this bus again today, and after a great conversation about his horse (he has his very own), and going to the coast, etc. we got off the bus and I nonchalantly said “Tim, since we both work downtown, we ought to go to lunch sometime.” He (if I’m not mistaken,) seemed to brighten up, and said “That sounds great to me.” He asked for my number and I said it was in the phone book under Alexander & Alexander.

I figured if I broke the ice, he can meet me the other half, and call ME. And if he really wants to go out to lunch with me, he can look the number up. (Tee hee! I can be sneaky at times.) I just hope he calls. I have been secretly watching him for some time. We’ll see what happens. (There is always a certain amount of excitement when a fuse is ignited. It’s fun to see if it will just smolder away, or turn into a blazing flame.

So much has changed since this list... wait and SEE!