Day 1.5

I woke up the next morning feeling a bit ragged. The cabin Chad lives in gets pretty cold at night. Cold enough that he sleeps in a small loft above the kitchen with a small heater and his dog, Maggie, for a bit of extra warmth. I, on the other hand, was in the center of the room, on a futon under two sleeping bags. And a layer of frost. The pot-belly stove that would normally keep the room warm and one's breath invisible wasn't lit. First thing I am going to do when we get in tonight was light that bad-boy up. Me likey fire. 

After I awoke, I found Chad was up and about. He was on his computer concluding some business and calling in sick. At the time, I thought it a bit of hooky, but later Chad disclosed that he was under the weather. Seems my timing was ill timed.

Sun was up. BEAUTIFUL weather outside. Cold and sunny. 8 a.m.

This was the firsttime I have seen Chad in a good few years. We worked together years ago at TWANG magazine. I worked at a startup and we were dipping our toes into the publishing business. I was the only person in the office that could spell well-enough to pass muster, so we needed a designer to pick up the slack. Chad was brought in by our publisher, Paco Koehn, to be that designer. They went to high school together and it was a good fit. Another rowdy guy among rowdy guys. We hit it off. I was well impressed with is sensibility. He was a much better designer that I. I also liked that he distrusted Paco as much as I did. Eventually Chad was looking for a room mate and I was looking for a room. Soon after I moved in TWANG folded. We went job-hunting and Chad landed a job I was really pining for. I moved out, bitter, and we lost touch. Later down the road, Chad and I made amends, and were hanging out regularly. 

A few facts about Chad:

Fact One: He is a 41-year-old cheerleader for the Denver Nuggets. Not "cheerleader" like Brittney-Spears-backup-dancer cheerleader. He's a cheerleader-that-throws-tiny-women-ten- feet-in-the-air-and-catches-them-by-the-feet "cheerleader." He hold two national titles for "stunting." Impressive for a 25-year-old. Really impressive for a 41-year-old.

Fact Two: Chad is a BIG renaissance fair nerd. He travels all over to dress up like a silly girl and talk in a poorly affected English accent. If you were to see Chad as a stranger you might expect him to be into something like that. He has the look of a bad '80s fantasy movie barbarian. Think Beast Master. Yep.

Fact Three: Chad is a sincerely nice guy. He has gone through a lot of trouble since I have known him. He once refurbished a 1970 Sting Ray Corvette Convertible and totaled it on it's maiden voyage (he was cut off and hit a retaining wall. Chad could have easily died.). The car wasn't insured yet and was a total loss, save the new top and the rear wheels. Chad laughed it off.

Fact Four: Chad does exactly what Chad wants to do. He moved to Colorado to live in the Mountains "because I want to live in the mountains." I admire that. Chad is into Ren Fairs "because it's fun." He couldn't care less what other folks think.

I got up and shook off the frost. Chad was on the phone in the kitchen. He was on the phone with his girlfriend. She was in when I showed up, but split before I woke up. I felt bad for a second. She was sick with what Chad had just gotten over and didn't feel sociable. After Chad gave her a courtesy call we went outside to let Maggs stretch her legs a bit.

Chad is a stocky guy. I think he once told me that Notre Dame was pegging him for their Offensive line out of high school. Chad passed on their offers "because I didn't want to be jock." Chad is the definition of a jock, by appearance anyway. The dude is as stocky as a person could be without ending up in front of a Senate panel investigating steroids. To add to the picture, Chad has been growing out his hair since he moved up to Boulder five years ago. His hair was clear down to the middle of his back. Chad is also sporting a weird Abe Lincoln come Backstreet boys beard. And somewhere in the last five years, Chad's neck disappeared. To say that Chad is very much an "individual" is stating the obvious. Put a kilt on him and it's hilarious. Chad. Heh heh heh.

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The ground had a nice three-inch layer of snow. This was a fact I missed since I came in via moonlight. The air bit as well. The light cloud cover was already burning off.