35 Stone

My friend Vince's wife
asked me to write something
for his 35th birthday
So i will share some memories here

Let's start with this one
I remember going to his house in high school
I'd come over with some mutual friends or friend
Probably Justin Smith
Anyway, his room was very tidy
I remember that
There was a drafting table
A guitar
And lots of books
Not unlike most other rooms
though there was one significant difference
No bed!!!!!
I was like, "what the heck? where do you sleep?"
On the floor was his answer
I guess he was already planning for his future
As a suburban gypsy, a couch-surfing poet.

One of my fondest memories is of
The day we became friends as opposed to aquaintances
See, the distinction is when you can hang with each other
Without all of the friendly satellites
We were about 19, and i had to do a report on the Hoover Dam
I decided my time would be better spent skipping class
And taking a little field trip
I stopped by Tom A's home,
Where Vince could currently be found that week
And said, "Hey, you wanna do the dam with me?"
He said, "Yeah, sure" and a friendship was born.

Another time, another place
All of us friends used to love hiking
Or rather, wandering aimlessly around the desert
Vince and I drove out W. Charleston towards Red Rock Canyon
We used to hike Red Rock alot, so
Today we decided to just pick some "virgin" territory
We found some sort of turn-off
Drove a bit down a dirt-road and parked.
We climbed through some hap-hazard barbed-wire
And headed out into the desert armed with a gallon of water
After getting out of site of the car
We noticed something shining or flashing in the distance
Some sort of glittering prize we thought
And off we went
After god-knows how long
We arrived at our distination and
Do you know what that sign said????
"Danger! Hazardous Materials Site" that's what!

Later, Vince and I worked together
At a Gaming Warehouse
I cannot recall the name anymore
But it was our job to handle, count and sort
All of the money they came and went
And we're talking alot of money here
About a million in coin and bills (mostly coin!)
Come to think of it, that's not very much anymore
But it was more than we'd ever seen
I'm sure of that and it was heavy too
Anyway, it was our job to get the "collectors"
Ready every morning
And then count it every evening
Our strategy was to bust our butts
As soon as we got in
Lugging $500 bags of quarters
All over the warehouse
Get everyone counted and loaded
Take inventory and accounting
Make sure the balance was what it should be
Then just hang out
We'd spend the first 5 hours
Just working away, with music blarring
Then the last 3 we'd sit around and read
Or listen to music
Or just talk
This was right about when Vince was converting
So he was reading scriptures tirelessly
And we'd talk about them
Then we'd talk about dumb guy stuff
Or rag on about our friends
These were really good times for me
And i know that Vince and I
Were able to learn alot about each other during this time.

Anyway, I could go on and on
But i should save some for his 50th!
I hope I can remember it all then.
Happy Birthday Stone!