Hearing from an old friend

A month and a few days ago I wrote:

I was unemployed, sponging off my friend Ariel (David Wayne Cochran - maybe if you ever search for your name you'll see this).

Monday this arrived as a comment on one of my weblogs:

Richard. it's been many years. i've often wondered what has happened to you. always thought you'ld either wind up a millionair porno king. just kidding , sort of.

An email from Ariel.

Naturally news about old acquaintances followed:

remember paula (my dear loving wife)? and of course you remember marc(rose). they live in louisianna now they are married and he does graphics arts. she's become an almost but not quite militant christian and they have both become staunch republicans.

Back in the early 70s Marc (Rose) called himself a radical faerie and was the first guy I saw doing genderfuck (dress but no attempt to be female: no makeup, no campiness). Since Rose claimed to be Rose C’est La View, Marcel Duchamp’s last lover I did feel some doubts about him. (Somebody had to be Duchamp’s final fling but how likely was I to meet him?)

We were never more than acquaintances. It is a shabby fate but nothing for me to weep over. I am glad to be back in touch with Ariel. Hoping to be rediscovered by old friends is one of the reasons I keep my website alive.