You Were Never the Same

Justin Riot / Hanford, Ca / 2008?

I remembered how this man showed me music that was popular when we were kids. Yes.. I was an avid fan of grunge/nu-metal and had listened to Korn, Limp Bizkut, and other terrible bands until I bloomed into an Emo Kid. But before all that this guy used to live across the street from my mom's house in Lemoore. We used to skate, play guitar, play emulation games, and smoke pot. He was different.

After awhile I had outgrown him as a friend and had left to live in Fresno to be closer to the music scene. I came back one day to either hang out with mom or just get a couple of things. He was there across the street hanging out smoking cigarettes. He saw me and proceeded to walk towards my mom's house. Now, I'm sure all of you know in some cases that when a person approaches you the energy can be read almost immediately. Well, I'm not sure how I felt about him, but he definitely seemed off for the most part.

This picture was taken years ago. I believe this was the day we went and hung out to just do nothing. It was one of those hangouts that didn't seem the same. Usually we would go out and just get some grub at a Jack-in-a-Box, but this was just plain weird. I needed to waste film for some odd reason, so, he was my subject for the day.

I can't find this negative anywhere and finding this picture made me think about him. When I visited Lemoore I saw that his house was now occupied by another family. Thinking about it now his mother told me he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It sort of broke my heart when she told me. Hope things are okay Justin. I really missed skating with you.