Who You'd Be Today

My first slow dance, all 8 minutes and 57 seconds of "November Rain," was with him.

He was my first real kiss. Once, on the way home from a school dance, sitting in the back of the bus, we were dared to kiss for ten miles.

He used to let me borrow his puffy Chicago Bulls Starter jacket and wear it all day. Sometimes, he would even let me wear it home.

For Christmas, he gave me a silver herringbone necklace, even though we were only 11.

At school, we used to write silly notes back and forth all day long (some of which I still have). He even made up a fictitious character, Bob, based on his fondness for Bob Hope.

He was the first to get to "second base" with me as we lay in our friend's cabin behind his house. Later that night, my girl friend and I tried, with no luck, to sneak out of her house so I could spend just ten more minutes with him.

Today is the 13th anniversary of his death. I haven't visited his grave in a very long time, but I will never forget the date. He isn't the only one of my former classmates to pass away, but he is the one that I think about most often and most fondly, always wondering who he'd be today.

Jesse Vernon Riggs, I miss you every day.