::Let Me Clear My Throat::

OOOOoooh It's gonna be a purging bonanza today, my friends. I've been holding in so many secrets that I could be a Mafia consigliere, and I literally can't do it anymore or my emotions will go on strike.  Here we go. I have a friend, and for anonymity sake, we'll call him Arthur.  Arthur and I have been friends for over 20 years, strictly platonic all the way.  Arthur hasn't had an easy life, and unfortunately, he's gotten himself in trouble a time or two, and has spent some time inside Illinois finest institutions.  To his defense, he's been forced to grow up and take a hard look at his life, and has turned himself around. Up until three days ago, Arthur was 'away' for about 4 years.  During that time, he and I communicated by writing hundreds of letters, and eventually moved to phone calls and visits.  Over time, I learned that, aside from very  sporadic contact with his mom and aunt, I was literally the only one that he had contact with.  T...

I now understand the true meaning of the phrase 'hair trigger'. Happened to me today.  I was happily rolling along, minding my own little biz, singing along to Tori Kelly, annoyed at the semi driving 7 miles an hour in front of me, then, BAM. A little invisible emotion ninja roundhouse kicked me in the throat and I had to remember how to swallow and breathe for the next two blocks. I'm babbling now.  Let's rewind. Five months ago, my friendship with Poppa took it's last breath. There was no warning.  No fight. No disagreement. Hours before, we were texting and sending stupid jokes back and forth. Few days before, he was acting a little distant, and when I confronted him about it, I got, and I quote: "Of course not baby, why would I be mad at you?  I love you." Suffice it to say, everything was fine...until it wasn't.  I found out about his desire to end our friendship through (you ready for this?) INSTAGRAM. Via some stupid meme/quote things that...