My friend Glen

I finally spoke with Glen the other day. He and his lovely fiance, Stacia, moved back to Oregon after long, miserable years in Texas finishing physical therapy school. While Stacia is originally from Texas, the beauty of the northwest seduced her when she and Glen were out here visiting his family, who live in Gresham (my hometown). Aren't they cute?

Glen and I met our freshman year at Gresham High School. We were involved with choir and musical theater together, but I failed to convince him to join the newspaper staff. Glen had the distinction of being the only person to sing in all four choir sections as he journeyed through high school. Freshman year had him singing soprano, and by senior year he was a baritone. We were glad, because the dresses the altos wore made his ass look big.

He was a great friend for multiple reasons: he had a car, his dad had a kick-ass movie-watching set up in the basement, his mother always let me eat dinner at their house (she actually cooked). Did I mention he had a car? Glen was amazingly generous at driving me places. He even took me to our senior year homecoming, which was probably the most fun I had at one of those things.

When we went off to college, me to Tacoma and Glen to Oregon State (yeah Beavers!), we managed to keep our friendship going. I loved visiting him and all his lovely fraternity buddies in Corvallis, such sacrifice on my behalf to actually spend the night IN the bunkhouse. But his friendship was worth it. I also got to make a complete drunken lush of myself in a city where I wasn't attending classes and trying to date nice boys like my future husband.

The lovely Stacia first appeared to Glen in an internet chat room. Glen was sheepish about discussing her at first, as he'd crucified various buddies who trolled for chicks on the internet. Naturally, because Stacia is quite intelligent, she sent Glen a photo of herself despite his lack of requests. And because she IS the lovely Stacia, he was smitten. More teasing ensued.

They had a sweet friendship while Glen finished college in Corvallis and Stacia was attending classes in Texas. Such irony that Glen was accepted to physical therapy school in a town near Stacia. To my upmost dismay, Glen brought with him from Corvallis some stupid bitchy bimbo to Texas. His communication with Stacia faded for almost a year. Finally, SBB left Texas, and the lovely Stacia and Glen started chatting again.

And here they are, engaged and back on the West Coast. Glen surprised her with a gorgeous diamond last Christmas. They are planning on an April Fool's Day wedding. And I'm so happy to have them back here. Hopefully I'll sweet-talk them into coming to Tacoma some weekend so we can cook them dinner and ply them with wine. Now I just have to remember to send that birthday card to both of them. So considerate for them to share a birthday! It's hard enough remembering Glen's, and I've known him for 13 years!