Boyfriend 3

 

defining boyfriend  at that time as someone I dated, spent time with, maybe had a kiss or 2...puppy love.

The music of Leon Russell makes me think of a high school boyfriend, Dennis. He was 2 years older than me. I was young for my school age. He was a senior when I was a junior at Shaker. I had just gotten there. Luckily,

I had a good friend that was at Shaker when I arrived. He was a neighbor of a friend of mine from girl’s school…they lived next-door to each other in Menands with a golf course behind their house. He and I were best of friends for years…I adored him…I did a lot of growing up with him. His house was very “free” …His father was absent and his mother was a lush…anything went. In fact, my sister dated his older brother when she was in HS…but maybe just once. I don’t know. The older brother’s name was John and he lost his leg due to an accident with a chainsaw in the back yard. He became a drug addict but I rarely saw him.

Mark was my dear dear friend and his best friend was Dennis…and Dennis was really my first serious boyfriend. 

Dennis was a stand up guy..not really like Mark , more serious. He had long black hair and big glasses. I cannot remember how we started dating or what dating meant…The clearest memory I have is before he and Mark left for a remote sea location ( CC MA) where they would work on  fishing boats or whale watching….I thought I’d die. He cut off all of his hair and gave it to me in a plastic bag before he left.  I have no memory of my mother’s meddling in this relationship. I would see Dennis at school and at Mark’s house. Not sure how we got around my mother.

We listened to Leon Russell’s Carney album non stop…it was so sad…feeling all of those emotions you need to feel as a young human. He was a good guy….smart, moral, respectful..but he left.

as did Mark…double heartbreak. 

Years later, when I was living in the east bay SF, Dennis reconnected with me. He was living on CC with a wife and 3 daughters. He was captain of a fleet of boats at this point…

I think he was going through growing pains in his marriage and reached back into the past for me, for someone. We communicated a little and then he was gone. He did tell me that Mark had died…but I can’t remember how…

and that was the end , I am left with Leon Russel’s Carney, the loss of Mark and the thought of the path that I did not go down any further.