South Africa
Part 90
Based on emails from November, 2002.
I hadn't been writing Gary very much. Just a short note here and there to let him know that I was OK. Otherwise, I'd been spending way too much time burying myself in study and writing my final high school exams.
Winger had also been busy with his finals for the Grade 10 year, and stressing big time. I spoke to him after he'd written his science paper, which was one of his major stress subjects. On the other hand, his math mark had gone way up cos his mom had been sending him to extra math lessons. "And my marks are flying!" He was doing all his subjects in higher grade as well so that he could get a matriculation exemption in Year 12, and be accepted straight into varsity.
But not all his extra lessons were working so well. He was totally crapping out in his second language Afrikaans. Hey, it wasn't all that long ago that the grommet only had to hop the fence and go next door for his 'extra lessons'.
"Hey, bro, gimme a shout if you need a hand with your studying. I can come to your place or you can come to mine. Whatever." It was the least I could do for my special bud.
Meantime, Steph and I were kind of on a level stretch for the time being. Apart from the fact that we were both stressed about studying and writing our finals, the snorting thing at Craig's party was still getting under Steph's skin. I'd totally fucked things up with that stunt. But, hey, that's the way life was, huh?
The news on the grapevine was also that Steve and Gary had had a falling out. Where the fuck did that come from? OK, so I was pissed off about him sticking a rocket up my ass and accusing me of neglecting the first anniversary of Cody's accident... but... Weird. It was like the net imitating life.
"Hey, Gary. I've starting reading Daniel Meets MrB. Pretty stoked that you've got the story running again. It's much better than the Steve story. Maybe it's because it's your character. He's cool, though."
"Hi G,
I'm still here, still packing and still on hold cause of a snag with the house sale.
I have to say that I haven't read any of the Daniel stories since you stopped the Pop in LA story a while ago.
But I did just start the Taree one. While I realize you started it before that fateful Nov. 3, I have to say you had me rolling on the floor in 1st few paragraphs. You are a totally, one off, funny guy. And the comment "the more I pack the more I find to pack" is sooooo true. Jeez. Stuff, stuff, stuff and more stuff. When it's all in place in the house it doesn't look like there is much, but start emptying out closets and what a nightmare. So far I've taken 10,000 lbs to NC in a rented truck. That's a 25' long x 7-1/2' wide x 9' high filled to the top, packed solid, box. What is left here its still another mountain of packing boxes and the furniture, and my comp. [saving that 'til last cause the sale closing date is still up in the air]. I think you've seen this comp nightmare on my web cam and since then I've added to it.
I remember you saying when you were in this [house moving] boat that you also found it amazing how much we silly humans accumulate. I know just about everything I have but seeing it all out at one time is certainly an eye opener. What a hassle. Mostly it's the little items that are a pain. Desk items, phones, stationary, office stuff and all the little bric-a-brac that has a place doesn't look like much, but doesn't seem to end when you try packing it up.
I'd better get back to this mess or I'll never get outa here when the time comes.
Laters {{{{{hugzz}}}}
--
"The Pest"
I'd found a couple of pics on the net that could easily have been Daniel. Well, my interpretation of him. So I was thinking about doing a graphic of Daniel's Diary for Gary. :)
And Mark? Well, he wasn't sure what was happening during the holidays. His girlfriend was talking about the two of them maybe going away during his break between Christmas and New Year. So now he was feeling shitty about letting me down. "Hey, bro, it's cool. Don't worry about it. I'll find something else to do."
Actually, I had the urge to get away. To anywhere. It would have been wicked to see Mark and Fingers again, but I guessed that could wait. So maybe I'd hitch hike up the Garden Route and stop wherever along the way, and just meet people and give some thought to where I was heading in life.
During the week I'd met an old school buddy of Cody's... a hunk of a black dude that Cody used to call Jumbo. He and I ended up having a beer together and rapping about "life after Cody". I'd only met him once or twice at Cody's house during swim team functions so it was weird that he remembered me.
"I would've remembered you." :)
"Shuddup, Gary."
It was pretty cool meeting up with him, though. I'd never realized how tight he and Cody were. The dude had me in fucking stitches while he told me some of the school stories, and how he used to threaten to beat up Cody cos Cody was always going on about how Jumbo's folks must've tied bricks to his tool when he was a lightie. Hahahahahaha!
I could also guess that Cody must've jacked himself stupid more than once just thinking about him and Jumbo getting it on. That dude was chiseled! So I shot a load thinking about him and what I might do as well. :)
I'd also had a really cool email from June, plus graduation greeting cards from her and Jason. But my Lycos email addy was really getting screwed. I could get to it from everywhere except from my home comp. So I figured it would be better for people to use my surferdude addy.
Oh! And Gary got an email from Joao in Brasil who had the complete files of Cody's News 12, 13, 14, 15 - the ones missing from my reconstruction of his site. "It would be cool if he could put them somewhere on the net for me to download, then upload to hotguyz sometime."
Cheers,
Peace, Love, Respect
Your friend and the Codeman's
Steve
G'day Steve,
Yep, I woke about 3am and was fiddling around on the comp for a couple of hours when your mail arrived. I usually sleep 'til about 5 or 6am now that I don't smoke. Anyway, I grabbed another 1 1/2 hours later.
Well, there ya go... the end of an era. School's over. Well, not quite over if you go to varsity next year, but varsity ain't quite the same as school - even though Spencer and Jimothy refer to university as 'school'. Cody was a bit lost after graduating. School represented so much of his sporting and social life. But I don't think you have the same attachment. I had no attachment to school whatsoever, and couldn't wait to get outa the damn joint. That was 44 years ago and I've never been back to see it. I can still remember it clearly though, and the names of the teachers. I can also remember the day I walked out the front gate for the LAST TIME! I started work as a clerk in a government office on December 5, 1958. I was introduced to J. Watson, the then Registrar General, in his HUGE office with its timber paneled walls and massive polished oak desk right in the middle of the room. It was like something out of a Hollywood movie. Mr Watson was a scout master and, although I was too naive to realize it at the time, I think he liked me hehehehe.
So Winger's just two years off being a senior? Wow. He was going on 12 when his family moved next door to Cody's place. So much water under the bridge. One of these days I must read the Wingnut story, but I'm not ready for that yet... nor the Mark story.
Cool to hear about Winger setting his sights on getting into varsity, and it sounds like his folks are keeping a close eye on his academic endeavours. You once told me that Cody earned every point in his exam marks, and I think the same can be said for Wingnut. He's a hard worker. It's interesting to reflect on the way things turned out for Mark. He was a 'brainbox' according to Cody, but he ended up choosing a career as far removed from academia as you can imagine: building yachts. Imagine that! In a bowl, place a pinch of bully, a pinch of boxer, a pinch of swimmer, a pinch of bisexual fantasies about Cody hehehe, and a good pinch of aggro. Stir all ingredients while adding water and you get a sailor who drives a VW Bug. Who could have guessed? Not even Mark had the faintest idea of where fate would lead him.
Afrikaans? I know that it shares official-language status with English in SA but is it used often in the media there? Cody used to have trouble with Afrikaans as well and I can only imagine that it was because he didn't use the language in everyday speech. He used to refer to himself as an "English speaking South African" so does that mean that there are South Africans who don't speak English?
Yes, stuffing things up at the party and getting into Steph's bad books is the way life is. This house has its share of arguments as well, and they piss me off. But I can understand where Steph's coming from. The last time you were together she said that she was falling in love with you. But who's she falling in love with? Heckle or Jeckle? You probably aren't aware of Heckle and Jeckle, so I'll inform you. Meantime, if Steph commits her heart to you, she wants to be as sure as she can be that there ain't gonna be any nasty surprises down the track.
Steve and Gary have had a falling out? So what if we did? Hey, it gives the gossips something to talk about. Besides, there aren't too many people with whom you HAVEN'T had a falling out at some stage or other hehehe. I think what people tend to forget is that the reason I stuck a rocket up your ass was because you told me the truth about trashing yourself on November 3. You must've suspected that I'd jump up and down on the one spot, but that didn't stop you from being honest with me. You've stuck the odd rocket up my ass as well. But that's the way this particular relationship works. There'd be no point to it if it weren't based on truth and honesty. As you said to me in the beginning, you could easily lie to me to get me to like you, but you would try it Cody's way instead... the result being that you've earned the respect and friendship of a lotta peeps. And I've got myself a bead necklace and wristie. :)
I took a break from answering this email a while ago and went to the market. As I was entering the store, I spotted an Asian guy. I'm not particularly into Asian guys, but this guy was TDF! He had the most awesome colored skin and the cutest face! He was wearing a tank top that showed off his upper arms. Well, I totally lost the plot. Instead of walking to where I was supposed to go, I gravitated toward him without realizing it. He was talking to a couple of girls. Anyway, it's a bloody miracle that I didn't trip over something or crash into something and make a total fool of myself. Speaking of which, the doc's just been here and it turns out that Lindsay broke a rib when he fell after drinking champagne the day after his wedding anniversary. Serves the bugger right. I've got no sympathy for him; and I've told him so.
Interesting that you're enjoying Daniel Meets MrB. I was depending on Bobby [the Aboriginal dude] playing a starring role in that one but it never worked out that way, and I lost the thread. Not sure where to go with that story. Sooner or later, though, it will lead to Daniel finding out about Cody's accident and I'm gonna have to deal with that. As for it being better than the Steve story, that's a load of old codswallop. The two can't be and should not be compared. Your story was described by a reader in the early stages as "astonishing" and I agree with him. Make no mistake about the character I was writing about - a user and a dealer. So why do people now like you and respect you? Go figure.
I got an email from Sian yesterday - John Whitmore's daughter - to say that she's dreading the anniversary of her dad's death on December 24. She said that she thought time would make it easier, but that she was missing her dad more than anything. She was also mindful of the fact that Cody's first anniversary had just passed. She sounds like a wonderful lady, and has promised once again to provide me with some anecdotes about her dad for gazzasheroes.
It's a pity that Mark can't accommodate you for the holidays, but I guess he'd rather bonk Candy than bonk you hehehehe. I'm sure he'd love to see you again but I guess it'll have to wait for a more suitable time. I can guarantee you one thing: you and Mark will be friends for life because of Cody.
