Ricardo

 

I don’t know if it’s the time of year … or having this bug and all I’m pretty much doing is vegging out and ruminating - but I’ve been thinking about people who’ve come and gone and their spirit suddenly comes to mind. Like my oftentimes  exasperating yet most always well intentioned mega Waspy, Upper East Side co-worker for more than two decades RIchard.  A colleague of ours used to call him Ricardo just to piss him off. He was a little older than me - dog years in gay life - and called me “Star." He told sometimes interesting stories that went on and on and sadly, he was in the closet his entire life and didn't have anywhere near as much fun as he could have had. One afternoon, we had lunch across the street at the Flame diner on 9th. On the way back to the office I bought two candy bars at the newsstand and handed him one.  “You’re in love aren’t you?” I said yes and asked how he knew. “That’s what people in your situation do.”