Friday, May 22, 2009

EVANNED

Today's post is for the man, the myth, the legend himself: Mr. Evan Thomas. I love you my Pickle!
It was Spring Break of my (first) senior year when I made Evan's acquaintance. Jennifer and I were at a house party, out on the porch, when I hear someone shout something along the lines of "Here comes that LLLLJ!" I turned around, naturally caught off guard, and saw Evan sitting on a chair nearby, looking as happy as a leprechaun perched on top of a pot of gold. Keep in mind I had never met him, but he knew my nickname, so of course we hit it off. I wanted to put him in my pocket and carry him around for life. We had tons of mutual friends and really should have met each other a lot sooner than we did.
I saw Evan occasionally from then on. I was in Nashville that summer and had one more fall at Auburn and we bumped into each other at house parties, get togethers, etc. You know the story - I graduated, moved home, and two weeks after I moved to Nashville, so did Evan.
Me, Evan, JB and Dan had a great time goofing around all summer. JB and I went to see them in action at both their jobs and we had fun exploring different establishments all over town. Evan and I made a few trips to Birmingham together. Car rides with Evan are fun. You'll sing, you'll laugh, you might even cry, and if you're lucky you'll start taking photos (see below). He became a great confidant to me and I realized there was much more to him than just the funny, entertaining, "friend of Aubie" side that so many people know and love him for.
So clearly Evan and I got to know each other better and I was so sad when all three of them moved back to Auburn for school and I was left in Nashville. I managed to survive though and we kept in touch. Evan came up to Nashville for part of Thanksgiving and it was my pleasure to get to attend the Lion King with such a handsome date!
I remember standing in the Kroger checkout when Evan called me to tell me he'd been offered an internship with the Today Show in NYC for fall of 2007. I could not have been more excited for him. His hard work was paying off! I scheduled a weekend to come up and visit. Turned out the day I got there, Broadway went on strike, along with the already-striking Writer's Guild of America. So for an entertainment junkie, there was hardly anything to do in NYC. But we made our own fun and had a great time. He and Paul were awesome hosts and I had never laughed so hard on any trip. Evan arranged my very own tour of Rockefeller Center, including a stop by Conan's set and the legendary studio 8H. Dangerous. I loved it so much, I made him take me back Monday before I left, and he risked his life job to take several photos of me on the stages. Don't I have the greatest friends?After the internship, Evan found his way back to Nashville. We had a fun spring. We watched American Idol together. He was kind enough to always extend offers for free movie screenings and exciting opportunities. And he was stationed on Belmont Boulevard, holding a sign and shaking his booty, waiting patiently for me to run by him in the half-marathon in April. We spent lots of time at Mafiaoza's and Flying Saucer, and over time our conversations became more honest, more open and more vulnerable, and before I knew it, Evan went from a good friend to one of my best friends.
Which is why when he took off in July for some time on the road, he was so sorely missed. Luckily for me, a job, place to stay and some free laser hair removal put him in Nashville when he got off the road. He was home just in time for the whole "carless" situation and was such a gracious friend, going out of his way for me so often.

And now here we are, almost a year later. We have a standing lunch date every Monday, a tradition we started after we realized our schedules were so crazy that if we waited for a free evening to come along, we'd never see each other.
Sweet Pickle. Rutababy. Evvie Poo. BFF. He has many names, many "faces" and many moods, at the end of the day, he's just Evan: Evan, who knows me better than probably anyone (yes, anyone) on the planet. Evan, whom I can call when I am feeling happy, sad, or anywhere in between. Evan, who has more layers than an onion but unlike an onion, they only get sweeter and richer as you peel them off and get to know what lies within.
My dear sweet friend. Do you even know? Do you have just a clue, a hint, a smidgen of how much I love you and how grateful I am for you? I count my blessings far and wide in this city: my job, my C, my friends, but I promise one thing - my time in Nashvegas would be SO different and my blessings less without you here. Of course you know wherever you go and whatever you do I will be your biggest fan. But I have to give credit to the way that you enrich my life when you are physically in it. I apologize for all the ways I have let you down and will let you down in the future but I hope you know that more than coffee table books, free movie passes, rides or party invitations, the best gift you've ever given me is just to be a close companion of yours is gift enough. You have so many people that love and admire you, that to be called a best friend is just simply an honor.
You are so gifted. You have been touched with a spirit and personality that has more draw than all the magnets in the world. People are waiting to fall in love with you around every corner you turn. One day, you are going to turn the right corner and the entire world will be there waiting. And when it happens, I hope you'll remember your sweet pickle, your rutababy, your friend, your LJ. Happy birthday, Evan! I love you so much.

7 comments:

  1. uhhhm... speechless!

    Thank you for the amazing birthday post, Lindsay. It shouldn't be too shocking for you to know that I feel the same way about you! Nashville wouldn't be the same without my LLLLLLLLLLLLLJ!

    I love you TONS and cannot wait for you to return from the beach so I can give you a BIG, Male Prowess-filled HUG ;)

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  2. "One day, you are going to turn the right corner and the entire world will be there waiting," my Lord, I'm crying at work.

    Happiest Birthday wishes, Evan!

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  3. Evan is the best! Some of my most fun memories from Auburn involve Mr. Thomas. You really are a joy to so many people, Evan! Happy Birthday!

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  4. I like that you called him a magnet. Sometimes that gets way overused. However, in this case, Evan is the paragon of a magnetic personality. I've really enjoyed the few times I've gotten to spend time with him.

    Happy Birthday Evan!

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  5. I feel the need to chime in. Not because I got a shoutout on pearls (thanks LJ), but because I too am a huge fan of Evan! As a pledge brother, former roommate, and best friend, I echo LJ's sentiments: Happy Birthday Evan.

    Me: So what should we do this summer?
    Evan: I don't know, let's live in Nashville
    Me: Ok.

    Love you buddy!

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  6. On a trip to Nashville last year Lindsay told me she had a surprise for me for lunch... I guessed maybe Vince, Garth,or even Tim and Faith. To my delight, it was Evan!!! Lunch has never been more fun followed by the inferno wasp revenge back at Lindsay's apartment. I learned not to solicit Evan's help if I ever want to extinguish critters, 'cause all he can do is fall on the floor laughing hysterically! Glad you are not in pest control Evan!! Happy Birthday! Never grow up please!
    Love, Mom J
    P.S. I will be in that world when you round that corner--your biggest fan!

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  7. I cannot thank you all (individually and collectively) enough for the loving and kind words you left about me here. Returning to this post throughout my day to find what each of you wrote was definitely one of my 25th birthday highlights. So... Thank you LJ, Jennifer, Star, M.B. Eric, Dan, and LJ's Mom for your contributions to a wonderful birthday!

    Much love!

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Oh goody!

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