Colour Wheels and Comic Books

What a weird and wonderful night; a collision of old and new, retro and revolutionary, favoured friends and new adventure. A destination met with smiles, a journey peppered with fanciful moments. 7:30pm. Button by button, I cocooned myself in a womb of denim and wool as much to shield from the biting wind licking at my neck as the unpredictability of the evening that lay ahead. A class reunion can be a cocktail of competing egos and sour grapes. Fortunately, 10 years can add a lifetime of maturity to even the most memorably insecure. And, the domesticating effect of partnerships and offspring added a sense of calm to the barrage of catch-up conversations..making them more palatable, though some what repetitive. I expected those who showed to be uniform in their desire to show off or size up. But, inebriation truly is the great equilizer, despite any preconceived notion. A few tall boys later and the ice was thawed, unleashing a flood of laughter and good memories. The only awkward moment was watching an old acquaintance standing in the middle of the room, staring blankly past the festive crowd at a windowless wall. Maybe he was playing the path not taken on a projector in his mind. After all, who shows up at 30 to a class reunion high on ecstasy... a question most there asked only with their eyes.
10:30pm. A night that would have only been just beginning 10 years ago was coming to a close, at least for those who now settled into a book or film on your average Saturday night. Call me Peter Pan if you will. But, I'm still a few years away from the sedentary life. There are other nights to catch Sex in the City in syndication. And, I'm on a schedule that has me waking up at 3am though the week. So, I flung my scarf with fighter pilot flair and dared the crystal sky to slow me down. Courageous words for someone who managed to snag a car ride back down town, I know. ;)
11:20 Meet Jack Dylan...a poster art exhibit tucked away in a small second floor gallery on College West. And, Meet Jack Dylan we did. We also met Franco and Alice and Jessex and of course met up with Chris "Fantastik Eddie" Lotts.... a flash from the past with a very unique flavour. Though Jeff, my old class-mate, felt somewhat out of place amongst this new generation of neophiles and urban hipsters... the colour of the characters surrounding us was almost as intoxicating as the art on the walls, the music dancing its way through the narrow space and the countless pints I'd consumed throughout the night. I was gone by 1:30, before the lights grew dim, before the remaining few stumbled down the front steps, supported by tonight's love interest and the wide-eyed exuberance of youth. I was even gone before the ceremonial splifs made their final rounds. But, it wasn't for the feeling of exhaustion. It was just the right time to go. And, that is the greatest blessing of being 10 years out of school: moderation, not for safety's sake, but to hold on to that warm glow that rewards visitors who don't stay past their welcome.
It's funny how many lives we live at once. So many different sides and needs and ways of connecting to the world that absolutely make us who we are. At 22, I had my gay friends, my theatre friends, my school friends, my Montreal friends, my work friends, my family friends. The list goes on. All these were separated by my need to segregate the parts of me that together made me whole. In the years that passed, I learned what wonderful creations emerged when I mixed and matched and integrated all these sides in one. But, on this night, I realized that the social world need not be a big jambalaya stew of who I am. The recipe's refined. I am fully realized when I am free to be the person defined by that environment presently in play. I do not bring the side of me that likes to dance and drink to a mortgage meeting with a bank. I am 100% true to who I am, that side of me which loves to wheel and deal, negotiate and charm. Likewise, I have no interest in wearing a suit and tie to club, unless it has a Valentino cut. The point? Be true to who you are until it no longer feels true to how you feel. Don't throw away the remaining soup. But spice it up with new adventure. It is possible to be free to experience the whims that make life wondrous and at the same still stay committed to friendships, relationships, goals and of course oneself. It just takes knowing who you are. And, on this night a nice reminder of all that is me... from friends that helped mould me 10 years ago to those that enter now to offer new inspiration and fuel the fire of my destiny.