The Wild Ones

Some may question “the Wild Ones?”

As a group we never actually hung out…. Not really. Each of them may have crossed paths and interacted on the occasion for brief moments, but mostly their lives and friendships with me remained separate from one another. In my mind though, this awesome lot of super dudes and I walked, and still walk, among each other quite often. The prerequisite for these guys to be classified by me as awesome consisted of “Hey Mark, let’s hang out.”

I mentioned all of these dudes in my Memoir, “Challenging Barriers and Walking the Path”, as they were all significant to my life in one way or another, helping to fill this confused and shaky life with some cherished memories and what I think of as great adventures and fun times.  Peter, the Finn, Surfer Dude, and Kevin.

Where are they now? The Finn is still in my life, I occasionally correspond with Surfer Dude, Peter has moved onto his own big moments, and Kevin I remain connected to through memories and family. But I often feel that we are all still together and always will be.

They have all meant more than can actually be put into words because they have helped this lost boy grow and accept. I am comfortable with my life for many reasons, but these boys, they gave, and continue to give, (even in absence) a calm comfort.

Music, theatre, dreams, fun, laughter, rebellion, mischief.  

Sitting on the surface of a half built foundation to a home while crackin’ jokes; lounging by a campfire in the rain or stacking on more and more wood to raise up the flames; singing along with eighties tunes belting out from the car radio at one AM in the morning; baking in a sauna and then running out into the dark and jumping into the cold water; surfing Styrofoam boards on three inch waves; taking a long journey into never land to recover a theatre set with little knowledge of our return and therefore throwing caution to the wind. The list of memories is long and in my heart they all run deep.

This foursome brought into my life times that presented me with laughter, clarity, meaning, excitement, tears of happiness and acceptance. They helped me rise from mistakes, overcome challenges, and feel comfort through sadness. Regardless of where we’ve gotten to now in present time, the impact is still strong. For me, these are the "Wild Ones".