I don't know how it happened, but things like this happen only once in a lifetime, if even that often. Each of these people was born on May 14th. Each of them are (were, in the case of the first one) about as weird and wonderful as it gets, and each of them I've been honored to call my friend...The first is Steve Sogomonian, whose name was actually spelled Cteve or Cteev. I can never remember. Sadly, we lost him in 2000 or 2001. I can't remember that either because I lost three people all around the same time and parts of me just shut down. Ville can tell you in the comments. Anyway, Steve was a born comedian and a giant pain in the ass, and I loved him dearly. No one could make me laugh like he did. As a matter of fact, "Heimer Day" was named after him. His nickname in our circle of friends was Stevenheimer, Ctevenheimer, or Cteevenheimer, depending on the spelling. It wasn't something we ever wrote down—it was spoken.
The second is Julie Chacon, AKA Ninja Mouse. Believe it or not, that cute little mouse held a black belt. One of my favorite conversations with her (at a bar one evening) went exactly like this:
Julie: "I was just sitting at the bar, and he came up and we started talking. I punched him in the nose."
Me: "Why did you do that, Jules?"
Julie: "He said something that made me mad."
Me: "I hope I never make you mad!"
Julie: "You could never make me mad, Berg."It helps to know that Julie's voice sounds exactly like Marge Simpson's. Yeah, cute little mouse. I wish I knew where she is; I really miss her.
The third is George Cullinan, AKA Geor3ge (the E is silent). George is a blazing genius, an intellectual, a brilliant concert pianist, and one of the weirdest damned people I've ever known. I'll never forget the first night we got drunk together and sat singing Dylan songs. George could have been one of the original Pythons (of Monty Python) if he'd been born earlier and in England. He's that kind of weird, he's that kind of funny.
These are our Heimers. I miss each of them and I wish them each a happy birthday!
