I wrote this in late February, figuring I would try and remember the first time I met Wes. It has been sitting on my computer’s desktop since then. Not sure why- I guess part of it stems from me wanting to add a beginning that included a student of mine that passed away in early March. This student had come to visit me a the end of February, very excited that he had received his GED and was off to Job Corp. Two weeks later, after a late night celebration he was gone. I questioned why he had come to visit me, and a good friend of mine told me it was because he wanted to let me know he was ok. Guess it just took me a while to believe that and finish this story on meeting Wes.
I met Wes when he was a freshman and I was a sophmore in high school. The first time we “met” was not really meeting- it was more I thought he was a jerk and he thought the same of me but would have used another word. It was the beginning of the school year and my friend Christy and I were on our way to class. We came upon the beginnings of a fight- and like we did with every fight we witnessed we had to start yelling “don’t do it, or no stop!”
It is funny now, working in a middle school, there is the random fight here and there but I never see or hear students yelling to break it up. They circle around and watch- in awe or shock. But, it is usually me or some other staff breaking it up. So maybe Christy and I were wierdos to yell and stop fights. I know Wes looked at me like I was.
Him and another boy were exchanging words and Wes seemed to be the angrier of the two- I later found out this was over a girl. Anyway, Christy and I started yelling at Wes to stop and leave the other guy alone. He looked down at us- and the look on his face said it all. Basically, who do you think you are and mind your own business- with a bunch of cuss words and gestures mixed in. There was no fight and Wes walked off. I don’t think we are the ones who stopped it- I think it was more like Wes thought we were so dumb that the moment was over. That was the first time we met, can’t really call it meeting. We would talk about this event later when we were friends, and he was sure to let me know how stupid it was of Christy and I to do that. Stupid because he was not wanting us to get hurt, he was sure to let me know that some other guy might have turned his anger towards us. When Wes cared about people, for real, he really did care about them. I know he always had this fear that I was going to get hurt- I don’t know why he worried so much. He worried more about others than he did himself. Now, if he didn’t care for you that was another story.
It would be months later that we actually met. It was through friends. There was a big group of us hanging out at Denny’s one night, like we did so many nights. Coffee, cigarettes, laughter and talking- The Denny’s on Union housed many nights of random drama, fun, chaos and much more from our high school days. On this particular night there was about ten of us sitting around a table- Wes was being so loud it was hard not to notice him. But, not only was he loud he was being very funny.
Earlier I wrote that Wes cared very much and worried- but not often enough for himself. Sometimes he would take risks and do or say the craziest things- that someone like me just didn’t get. I think this is why I was first attracted to him.
My memories of high school are very random and in a strange order but I know after this our friends became friends and we hung out together more.
I remember another random night shortly after this one. A friend of ours had a Colt- a cross between a mini van and SUV. Nine of us fit in it and one particular night we drove around in that thing for hours. It was like cruising but we would have never called it that. We went to Red Rocks that night and Wes threw a bottle on the stage, which broke and echoed all over. Someone yelled police and we ran in all different directions- we just happened to run in the same direction and hid together. No police were there- but that sealed it I had a crush on the kid. I think back on first meeting (for real) Wes and the image that pops in my mind is his big smile, full of braces, and his bright blue eyes. Of course, we were much too young at the time to have real relationship- but we had a lot of fun. Wes made me feel a lot of things, but what he made me feel the most was special (most guys at that age do the opposite). I felt special because I got to know the real Wes, the one only a few people knew. The reader, the outdoorsman, the comedian, the advocate, - a person he was proud of being. I don’t believe anything is by chance- I met Wes for a reason- I stayed friends with him for many years after that first meeting because of who he was and how I felt when I was around him. He taught me a lot and to this day is still teaching me, reminding me with his memory and who he was. Care for others, don’t give up on people, don’t take life too seriously- and most of all enjoy life- every moment of it.
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