And miles to go before I sleep…
56. chiphi2x, aka Mike M., a web designer who lit a fire here without ever coming any closer (physically) than a thousand miles; for being frantic, restless, sometimes manic, sometimes depressed, and always intense, for struggling and crying, for soaring and shining, for letting me read into him, for inspiring a piece of my best writing, and finally, for quite unexpectedly responding to it.
57. Mentioned in the same old journal entry as chiphi, JP (short for John Paul), a college student who was beautiful, and interested in being my friend; for offering a lot more than I dared accept, and for giving me the time of day, which even then, long ago, was unbelievably late.
58. Nelson Mandela; for enduring, for distilling through decades of suffering a faith priceless to the world, and for being free.
59. Cat Stevens; for every whisper he has ever recorded, for his gentle heart, and for treading lightly on this life.
60. Jim Lonborg, the Red Sox pitcher with the spit stain on his shoulder; for carrying us on a dream like none we have ever dreamt, a season of winning so precious that one might feel more fond of it than victory.
I know I promised. I’m sorry. There’s only forty places left in the list, and I have at least 400 whom I love from which I must whiddle away 9 out of ten. Takes time.