Member-only story
The Doomed Friendships of Men
In life and film
Disclaimer: the following includes accounts of mental and emotional states of unwellness involving ideation of self-harm. If such material places your own mental and emotional health at risk, please read no further. Some film and television series descriptions contain spoilers. Names have been changed for privacy.
When I think back to my teens and twenties, it is not with starry eyed nostalgia. It is more with surprise at having survived my own recklessness and wondering how things might have been different had fate placed me elsewhere. Like everyone, I have unfinished business with life and still seek fulfillment in many facets. I am grateful for my blessings and curmudgeonly about areas where I feel shortchanged.
But one area in which I have enjoyed an abundant life is in friendship both in number and intensity. Some friends have drifted away and others I let go out of being the only one making an effort. I have a way of attracting eccentric characters into my life. I have often joked that I have a neon sign on my forehead that flashes “crazies and misfits welcome here”.
I attended a residential Catholic school for boys in high school. Our dorm had an eclectic mix. There were international students from influential families. There were families who had made the decision that it was…
