cast of characters

In the last few days, I've had two people ask who various people were whom I referred to by name on my blog. Back when I started this in 2004, I was much more anonymous and would say things like "my friend and I went to Cedar Point"; but then it became "my friend Stu and I"; and now it's simply "Stu and I" because I figure my regular readers know who he is by now. But for those of you new to the game, or who might need a little refresher, here's a glossary of people I often refer to by name only:

Justin
Friend from college who was my roommate during junior year. We keep in touch almost daily via instant messenger. Living in Florida with his wife, Betsy, although he will be a college professor in Georgia later this year.

Mandy
My parents' beagle-fox terrier whom they adopted in 2006. Previously, we had Belle, a miniature beagle, and before that, Max, who was some sort of beagle-black & tan coonhound mix. Yes, we like beagles.

Stu
Friend I met from doing community theatre, and probably my closest friend to date (sorry Justin, Tom). Married to Laurie, also a good friend; they have a daughter, Chloe, who's turning two next month. We usually get together on Sundays to watch the Fox animation lineup, but otherwise can be found gallivanting about various amusement parks around the country, or going to shows at Playhouse Square, or sampling Cleveland area restaurants, or just doin' stuff.

Tom
Without getting into a long spiel about my childhood social life, suffice it to say that Tom was my main friend from about third grade on. We both went to Bowling Green for college and ended up in the same circle of friends (see The Cadre). Currently a programmer in Chicago and married to Kristy. I don't refer to them often on the blog, but they have two dachshunds, Sybil and Ruby, otherwise known as "the kids." Like Justin, I talk to Tom rather frequently on instant messenger.


Now then, there are two important groups of people:

The Cadre
Collective term for the friends I most hung out with during college. The term "cadre" came from an e-mail Shawn sent to GT after leaving Bowling Green. Tom and Justin are also in The Cadre. We keep in touch in varying ways and in varying frequencies. Since 2005, we have spent one weekend each summer at my parents' cottage, sometimes with Nick flying in from Seattle to join us. Nick is probably annoyed that I mentioned his name in print here, as he generally prefers to lurk. Then there's Schutze (whom I lived with for three semesters in college), and Dave from Pennsylvania. Oh, and I also forgot to mention Jason. But that's OK because, according to Nick, Jason doesn't count. (This is a running joke.) Kristy has likely achieved official Cadre status, on account of being one of the few Cadre wives who "gets" The Cadre and our unique brand of nerdiness.

Taco Night/Wing Night
Taco Night began just before the close of Cabaret, which I played piano for in 2003. Some members of the cast met at The Rush Inn in Lakewood for $2 tacos on Monday night, and it ended up becoming a weekly event. Denise (Dee) would generally send an e-mail to everyone on Monday with the meeting time and any news of who was doing what shows and/or when people were planning to go see said friends in said shows.

As we all continued doing theatre, we brought new folks into the fold, while others became busy with life and were more sporadic. When Dee became busy with shows and a second job, I took over the reigns of the weekly e-mails. Eventually we got tired of tacos and instead met at The Rush on Tuesdays for half-price Wing Night. Unfortunately, as we have all become busy in different ways, and some have moved to other cities and other states, these meetings have become far less frequent.

Because of the fluctuating nature of the group, it would be hard to list everyone, but as far as people mentioned by name on this blog: Allen, Becki, Breianne (Bre), Dee, Gregg, Laurie, and Stu were all regular Taco Nighters. Like The Cadre, we generally spend one summer weekend at my parents' cottage, aside from various other activities I do with these folks throughout the year.


I think that about covers it. I presume when I say "mom" or "my brother" you know who I'm talking about, so they don't get their own glossary entries. :)