Chronicles, "Take The Long Way Holmes"

I first met Holmes, AKA Rycherox, in the summer of 1982 (the summer before I graduated high school) at Nicki’s, a local pizza joint. He was feeding quarters into one of the video games in an attempt to extend his reign as top dog of Asteroids. Holmes had a delightful and twisted sense of humor that only comes from watching countless hours of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and “Fridays” (a short-lived but incredibly hilarious Friday night version of SNL). We hit it off almost immediately.

I need to stop here to fill you in on a bit of my hometown etiquette. Back then, it was considered a faux paux to associate people from high schools other than your own. The county I grew up in had six high schools and it was rare that you had friends from any other than your own considering all the rivalries. I was a bit of an enigma to my peers, so it did not bother me that I would soon be looked upon as a bit of a rebel by doing this. I received some scorn from both my high school and Holmes' but we never let that interrupt an incredible friendship. And now, back to our first meeting.

After watching and playing games for about 30 minutes or so, Holmes decided to leave, but he invited me over to another pizza place to try out a few of the video game samplings they had. I followed him across and down the street to a little hole in the wall with about 5 video games in it. I think one of them was Galaga and another was Omega Race, but other than that, my mind is a blank. Not that it matters much...Holmes was the game player; I was just a trusty and faithful sidekick that would probably follow him to the Abyss and back, if video games, music, sci-fi, or girls were involved (which they usually were).

That first day when I met Holmes he was his usual self: carefree and uninhibited. Later on, when I met his mother and his brother JC, I saw a different side of him: The man of the house, the big brother, and the protector. I learned that Holmes was in a situation that affects many kids today...he never really knew his father. I was not sure how to approach the subject, so I never asked many questions about his fatherless home. When I was younger, I never felt comfortable asking anyone about personal matters. But now is a completely different story. If you have a past and want to talk about it, I will always listen. Maybe that is why my friends have always included a few outcasts. Society may not want them, but I always do.

Holmes was in most aspects, an incredibly mature 15 year old. He did not smoke or take drugs. He only drank when the rest of us goaded him into it. He even shared an apartment with his aging grandmother so he could help take care of her. He did that until she passed away a couple of years ago. I don't know to many people that would do that, especially at such a young age.

Holmes was the first best friend I ever had. Sure, I had several friends as I was growing up, but none stuck by me the same way he did. I used to spend almost every Friday and/or Saturday night at his house after I graduated high school. We would stay up late and watch TV until his mother got off work at a local club where she was waiting tables. She worked very hard to take care of her two boys. While it was evident that she appreciated Holmes taking care of his little brother in while she was at work, she appreciated Holmes having friends his own age. I think that is why she did not mind me being there so much.

Holmes and I clicked almost immediately. We had so much in common it was almost frightening. We spent hours at the local pizza ship/game room playing video games (not just playing...but watching as well) and talking with the regulars there. We stayed up late to watch "The Head Bangers Ball" on MTV hoping to get glimpse of a new Iron Maiden or Queensryche video. However, before that we watched SNL to get our comedy fix for the week. If the shows on TV were repeats, we would just read comic books and talk about the coolest new metal bands featured in Hit Parader or Circus magazine. If we were totally bored, we would just walk around town for a while and stop in by Kroger for a frozen pizza and a soda. Simple times, simple pleasures.

I envied the talent that God had given to Holmes. He is a gifted sketch artist and he also has a knack for writing parodies of all types (which came in handy during "The BSOB Years"). Early on he used these talents quite frequently (he had well used sketch pads all over his house) but he gave up drawing as he got older. I hope he starts up again...he was so good at it. Long live Laser Lad!

The knack for writing (and acting out) parodies was something he shared with CC. CC was one of Holmes' closest friends. The two of them created some rather interesting audio tapes parodying TV shows as well as performing Monty Python-esque humor. The two of them together were creative geniuses.

After I had spent a few months almost exclusively hanging out with Holmes, my old neighborhood friends asked me where I had been keeping myself. I told them that I was exploring the town a bit and I had found some new friend’s in town. Arrangements were made for Holmes and the old neighborhood guys meet. I brought Holmes over to our turf and introduced him to my friends KD and Carp. That first meeting was a bit childish, but it was productive.

All four of us were all fans of fantasy and sci-fi, so we drew up a plan to actually play the role playing game, Dungeons and Dragons, in a physical manner. We used wooden weapons, ran amuck in the woods, hoarded “treasure”, and formed alliances. Since Homes was "the new kid" and I was his friend, he and I partnered up. It turned out that Holmes was a fantastic swordsman, a skill he learned from watching the Star Wars Trilogy about 1000 times. That skill came in very handy that day.

Up until that time, KD had always been the better warrior, mainly due to his larger, more intimidating size (we were all under 6 foot and weighed about 150 pounds, whereas KD was 6'2" and weighted about 200 pounds.). Holmes was pretty close to KD's size so I let them square off and battle it out. Holmes finally won, but it was a long battle in which with both combatants left the woods very tired. That initial meeting helped form a new friendship between KD and Holmes. They are still very good friends.

Holmes enjoyed himself that day, but the woods where KD and I hung out and played was not really his cup of tea. Holmes was a man of the streets and preferred high tech over swords (which is quite ironic since I was the one that made tech my career). Holmes invited us to hang out in his part of town and we accepted. That began an era that I affectionately call, "The BSOB Years"...a time of video cameras, humor, cars, girls, and alcohol.

In the early 90's after I had lived in NC a couple of years, Holmes and I reestablished contact and added another chapter in the book of our friendship. We started trading home made audio tape mixes through the mail on a regular basis. The idea was to make the tapes like a radio show with dialog and music. I had collected quite a few CD's from the bargain bin that had one or two good (okay, average) songs on them and I had fun making them into mixes and adding commentary. I realize it was not the most mature thing two 20 something guys could do, but it was fun while it lasted.

Over the next few years, I hung out with Holmes and KD when I was back in town visiting. The meets were not as flamboyant as they were in the early days, but they served their purpose. We occasionally stopped by a watering hole and got caught up on things. Once or twice we went to watch Holmes' brother perform with the band that he was playing bass in at the time. It was nice to enjoy some good old fashioned American Rock and Roll along with a nice cold beer. On other visits we would just drive for hours (I really have no idea how far we actually went...Holmes and KD love to drive) laughing and reminiscing about the old days. Things had definitely changed, but let's face it, we were not kids anymore. We have our own lives to live.