Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy

One of the great things about a blog is that you get to publicly honor people in your life with a BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE. Some might call this PUBLICLY HUMILIATE, to which I say, SAME DIF’. No one deserves a tribute more than my housemate/best friend/apple of my eye/spring in my step/hunka hunka burnin’ love/boyfriend, MR. GRAHAM PARSONS. First of all, he lives with me, which means he gets to PUT UP with lots and lots of scraps of paper, everyday JOYS and DESPAIRS, a resistance to grocery shopping, and doing laundry, and everyday questions like, “Do you still like me?” and “Do you think I am pretty?” It takes a SAINT to put up with all that—-luckily, Graham is part saint, part mere mortal, so it comes out even in the wash.

27 years ago today, he was brought out into the world, kicking and screaming in his own big way, the last of 3 kids. Little did his attractive, conservative parents know that they were spawning a child that would outgrow everyone in his family in height, adorn tattoos (one of which reads RESISTANCE), have a penchant for punk rock, liberal politics, and getting the heck out of Southern California. I can tell you this is probably NOT what Jenny and John had in mind.

The first time I saw him, behind the counter of the bookstore, he seemed quiet and BAD ASS. Oh yeah and HOT. Little did I know, that he also is a TOTAL GOOF and HILARIOUS. He also is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met in my life, a good talker, and listener, who has an amazing capacity for empathy. He’d rather talk to one or two people at someone’s house, than attend a raging party. Once I asked if he wanted to go out and he pushed up his glasses and said, “I think I am going home to go read.” I thought, THANK GOD somebody else stays in and READS!

He is friend to the children and animals!

For fun he reads political books, drenched in warfare and International relations. He’s not one for fiction or literary endeavors, but he can appreciate it. He once admitted to me that sometimes he gets jealous of other guys when it comes to me. When asked who he got jealous of, he didn't name a single male person I actually KNEW. Instead, he named Philip Gourevitch, the author of We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families, a book on the Rwanda genocides. It was a book that Graham introduced to me, and one, which admittedly, I liked very much, but NOT ONCE did I ever pontificate on how HOT or DREAMY the author was. if you asked me, I think Philip Gourevitch is more along the lines Graham's kind of pin up--a political journalist who writes beautiful prose on the world's horrors. OH, you had Graham at HELLO!

They say you learn a lot from when you SHACK UP with somebody. I can say this last year has been QUITE INFORMATIVE for both of us. One of my favorite moments of the last year was when we were watching the divorce tearjerker, Kramer vs. Kramer. I was BAWLING my eyes out. I looked over at Graham, and discovered that he, too, was SOBBING. We looked at each other and CRACKED UP. “What a couple of girls!” I declared, and we held each other and just LAUGHED hysterically.

I've also learned he can be surprisingly strict with rules and regulations. When his sister Coreen, and niece Lauren were visiting, he was PANIC STRICKEN every time Lauren took her shoes off in public. Even though her feet never touched an inch of sidewalk, she could not be barefoot, while traveling the dark streets of New York City. Not on his watch, baby.

This is how cool he is: You'd never know that he was totally ANNOYED at me taking this picture, comparing him to a very large potato! The man has GRACE!

I never thought in a million years thgat I would have a boyfriend that I couldn't wait to both make out with AND talk all night with. I, for one, am very very happy that you were born, my dear Graham cracker. You have made me believe in miracles.

I love you so--Happy Birthday.