MY BEST FRIEND

TOM KIRCH was my best friend. Tom was everyone's best friend. I first met him in 1973 in Quadalajara, although I'd seen him in the Mexico PVA Clubhouse poker room a few months earlier as I pushed by the open doorway on my way to BINGO. I was advised to "stay away" from the Big Game. High stakes poker! The skinny mustached quad had stacks of multicolored chip in front of him. Although a penny-ante poker player myself, I had never seen yellow, black, light blue and green poker chips in my life. By the summer of '73 I was a regular at the Big Game. As fate would have it, Tom's wife JoAnn and my girlfriend Maria (one of many, many Maria's in Mexico) were each leaving town for about a week to visit their respective families in Minnesota and Tijuana. Tom and I did that male-bonding thing for the entire week. We went somewhere in-and-around Quadalajara and did something different each day. The skinny quad from Kellogg, Minesota and the equally skinny quad from Pawtucket, RI would remain close friends for the duration of our time South-of-the-Border. In January 1981, after much discussion about the future of living in Quadalajara and the possibility of returning stateside, we made our decisions. Tom and his attendant, Javier, left to scout out the Phoenix, AZ area. I and my attendant, Juan, left the next day. Same destination! Nineteen years ago today, Tom Kirch passed away. Rest in peace, my friend. ***THOMAS H. KIRCH: January 26, 1933 - November 17, 1987***