It Just Came to Pieces

When I was a freshman in college one of my two roommates was Pete I. We were an odd mix but somehow it worked. We shared a love The Jam and The Clash. He also was a huge Queen fan while I favored The Who and Springsteen and, yes, Rod Stewart. He wore flannel all the time and had a dry sense of humor. He could drink but rarely got totally bombed the way I would. I wore my emotions on my sleeve but Pete was more introspective. We could both be moody and I think we shared a similar world view that was fairly bleak although we arrived there on different paths. He was a quiet man of sadness and I lived a life of noisy desperation.

Pete died a few years ago. We never really kept in touch after college. I think I saw him once or twice even though we both ended up in Los Angeles in the 90s.

Anyway, I'm thinking of him tonight while listening to The Style Council's It Just Came To Pieces In My Hand, which he put on a tape for me once.