Day 753: The Chair, Part 12 – The Friendships, Part 3 = Tennessee

Then there is Tennessee, who I’ve known for 21 years.

I met Tennessee is a Special Ed class in the sixth grade.  Oh, have I forgotten to tell you that I’m diagnosed ADD with a Learning Disability in English Comprehension and Grammar?

Seriously.

Well… I guess that probably doesn’t come as complete surprise…

Anyway, Tennessee and I were mainly friends in Middle School and in High School we kind of went our separate ways.  Nothing ever really happened to our friendship… we were just into different things.  I was in the Marching Band and Tennessee was kind of doing his own thing.

Later on we ended up in some Theatre classes together and then were paired up with some of the other “freaks and misfits” in our school for a History project on the 1920s.

Now, the thing about “freaks and misfits” is that most are extroverts… however, while in the high school setting… we are forced to be introverts.  Well, for this project we tore the can off… we put insecurities aside and busted out, from what I was told… one of the best decade’s projects ever seen by my high school’s history department.  Our teacher actually videotaped it and I’ve heard that over the years she’s shown to students as an example of “what to do.”  Being that we were the 1920s… our group went first… three groups were supposed to go that day… but after we set the bar… the other groups (made up of mainly the ‘popular’ kids) asked to have another day to ‘rethink’ their presentation.

So, what did we do?  Well, at the time, Tennessee was short with short blondish hair… and I was tall with long black hair… our project idea was so simple it was stupid… but ultimately successful: Bill and Ted’s Excellent 1920’s Adventure.  Complete with time traveling phone booth.  The special effect for awesome!  Kind of like “Under the Gaslight” (obscure reference… if you know what I am referring to… let me know ).  That project is one of my fondest High School memories.

Anyway, later that year Tennessee couldn’t take being forced to be an introvert anymore.  He came out of the closet, which wasn’t too much of a surprise to me, transferred to an alternative school, and then ran away from home.

He fell complete off the radar for years.

Then about 3 years ago Tennessee found me on facebook and we picked up that short hand like no time had passed.  It was really pretty amazing.  Tennessee told me that he’d pretty much left everything from his old life behind… but over the years had thought fondly of our friendship, and set-out to find me.  I was deeply moved.

BTW: Tennessee is his stage name… he’s a drag performer in San Francisco now.  I’m dying to take Serena to catch his act.