Brothers - Prologue. Prologue

Part IV Brothers

Prologue

It has been pointed out by numerous readers who are enjoying the story of a naive young boy named Perry Thompson, that these prologues are more often than not, infuriating in their subtle and not too subtle insinuations of things to come. To those disgruntled readers I can only say this: Take what you will from these chronicles. Enjoy what you find here to enjoy; discard that which annoys, confuses, or offends. Lives often follow convoluted paths filled with unexpected twists and turns. Mine has certainly been no exception, and while I have had my share of regrets, I make no apologies for it.

The following is yet another fragment of the delirious saga that was my youth. It was a time of sexual and social awakening for me and many of my peers, and at times, it seemed like we were all running around like chickens with our heads cut off, sometimes knocking ourselves nearly senseless as we bumbled blindly into life's complex and interwoven physical and emotional webs.

Part IV is called Brothers, and besides the obvious connotations, alludes to some of the other relationships that were developing in my life around this time. While I was, at that point in time, an only child, many of the people I was closest too were parts of larger family units. I was always fascinated and somewhat envious of those who had siblings both older and younger: Morgan Kipner and his younger brother, Derek, Tom Espinoza and his two sisters, and of course, Jesse Taylor and his precious little sister--the dear, sweet, and ever so wise Miranda.

And even though I was lacking in true and full siblings, this was around the time that I started to form a special bond with my younger cousin Derrin, a bond that would evolve into a deeply rooted friendship that has lasted to this day. He is in many ways, the closest thing I have to a true brother. We talk about everything and we are always there for each other. As it turns out, there are things you can't even tell your wife, and yet I share them willingly with my 'secret brother.' There were my mother's siblings as well, my Uncle Ron and Aunt Rosemary, and of course, way off in the misty towers of Manhattan, my father, who at this point in my life, was still a somewhat distant and ambiguous figure. Even though I may not have fully realized it at the time, I was somehow linked to all these people in various ways, some conventional and others not.

And then there was Jesse Taylor. It seemed that Jesse and I had pretty much skipped the nascent stages of youthful relationships, side stepping the normal progression of playground pals and school chums, only to plunge almost immediately into a profoundly passionate and romantic relationship that continued to have unforeseen consequences, both good and bad for each of us. In many ways, it was a relationship that ran so deep, I rarely even thought of us as best friends. And yet, around this time, I also came to the realization that we could have another kind of relationship. It was difficult for me to accept, but it was undoubtedly there and possibly kept me from going mad during the times when I couldn't be with my beautiful blond angel in the intimate ways for which I hungered.

As I mentioned in the prologue to Part III, I did inform Jesse of my current writing project and he did respond. To see that long, silky, golden blond hair cascading down his lean shoulders and that unmistakable twinkle in those crystal blue eyes staring at me through the hi-rez 2.5D satlink was almost more than I could bear. While he certainly could no longer pass for that shy, frightened thirteen year old sitting under a tree at good old St. Boniface, terrified at the prospect of having to battle ignorance and adversity and his own personal demons in a strange new land, seeking nothing more than some modicum of peace and solitude, it seemed to me, seeing him sitting there across my desk in virtual reality, that I could reach out and touch him, and if not for the fact that he was actually on the other side of the world in Tai Pei, that we could still relive those giddy days of high school, when we were so certain that we had our whole lives ahead of us to share together.

While it is true that Jesse and I had our share of youthful adventures and misadventures, both profound and superficial, what you are about to read here is not a tale of high drama, violence, or mind numbing trauma, but more a whimsical story of young teens discovering new things about themselves, both physically and emotionally, and how they struggled valiantly to relate these things not only to the much simpler lives they had led as children, but also to the inevitable future of impending adult responsibilities and values that loom so large and intimidatingly during those tumultuous years of adolescence.

Recall that I have changed the names of all persons, whether living or dead, and created some fictional places as well, such as Santa Corina and St. Boniface. Once again I apologize if the memories of thirty years ago sometimes seem hazy. If these are not the clothes you remember wearing, or the slang you remember using, I hope you will accept my attempt to at least recreate what I consider a virtual backdrop, a veritable 2.5D hi-rez world for the people and stories you will find herein.

With Jesse's permission, I will share with you a text version of his response to my writing of these chronicles as an epilogue to Part IV. In the meantime, don't hesitate to send me your comments, either by text or satlink. I always respond promptly to any and all c-links to the best of my ability.

And lastly, some news that any father would be proud to relate: my son's rocket hockey team took first place in the JV Catholic regional finals this past weekend--Go Silver Knights!

Talk to me @Pt-9009-U/D543sat.net (scram/dir)

Perry Thompson June 16th, 2034