Another Chico goes DOWN! Tim hits 40 today!

Oh, the humanity! Is no Chico safe from this dreaded mid-life curse? First Rich, and now Tim meets the same Jag-driving fate! Okay, he doesn’t have a Jag. Yet. He did used to have a Stealth, though…

Yes, famed Nice Guy artist Tim Watts is the second of the old roommates of La Casa de los Chicos Blancos to hit the big 4-0. And that means 1) he’s older than me (write that down…it’s important) and 2) he and I have officially known each other for thirty years. Seriously…how many people have YOU known for thirty years that aren’t related to you?

We first met in the 5th grade (going to the same school as Rich, who was a year behind us, grade-wise), but didn’t really end up becoming friends until the following year. And have been best friends ever since. We’ve been through it all. Falling in love with the same girls. Starting our own newspaper (one that ended us up in the principal’s office…). Obsessing over Atari games. Seeing Star Wars movies in the theater (the REAL Star Wars movies…). Traveling to exotic places like Canada…Washington DC…and, unfortunately, Tijuana. We went through grade school together, junior high together, high school together, and even part of college together (go Beavers!). We’ve been roommates. We’ve been co-workers. We’ve been business partners. We’ve been on TV together. We’ve been to NBA playoff games together. We’ve been to concerts together (and one of us has been backstage. Ahem…). We’ve snuck into rated “R” movies together (just recently, I mean…). We’ve outgrown things together, but have never outgrown so many more. We’ve read the same books, worn the same jacket (my Tijuana leather got passed around a lot…), and many times shared the same Family Pack from Der Wienershnitzel (say it with me, those in the know… “Diaper fill….”). And after all the things we’ve done together, we managed to grow old together, too. He’s ended up the one with more hair, but at least mine isn’t as gray. For the record, I’d trade up for more gray….

A supremely talented artist, a chess jock, a poker pro, an avid history buff (meaning, Roman history nerd), a fan of fine cinema (ranging from Gilda to Holiday Inn to Biodome), an appreciator of fine music (ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Dave Matthews to Bloodhound Gang and Warp 11), and a man more obsessed with Iron Man than any other would-be fanboy out there (in case you didn’t know? They made that movie for him), Tim is steadfastly dedicated to NOT growing up the way THEY want him growing up. He follows his own path, one usually lined with good times, lots of laughs, and plenty of non-beer alcoholic beverages. A great friend to all who know him and (still) the life of the party, he’s managed to hit the halfway point in his life with few regrets (well, there WAS the mustache period…and the girl that time when the lights were out…) and a refusal to ever say “this is it”. He’s still following his dreams, and still has big plans for the future. For Tim, 40 is the new 30. Well, sometimes it’s the new 10, but that’s mainly when you’re dumb enough to leave him an opening for a mom joke…

So happy 40th, Mr. Watts. You were 16 first and could drive. You were 18 first and could vote. You were 21 first and could drink. This one? You can have. From this point on it’s alllllll payback, bitch. So thank you for the opportunity to laugh at your old ass for the next 17 days while I enjoy being in my thirties. Seriously…go to your MySpace page. Look there beneath your quote. And beneath the word “Male”. What’s the number? See it? AHHHH ha ha ha! Have a great birthday for NOW, but have an even greater one in just over two weeks when we will celebrate this thing RIGHT in Vegas. Thanks for the years. Thanks for the constant wingman. Thanks for the good times and for being there through the bad. Thanks for being the only person who will ever truly “get” me. Thanks for Gauntlet. For Cynthia Rhodes. For Micronauts. For Simon Hawke. For (almost) always-safe trips down stairwells. For rides in the Fairmont, the Mustang, the Vega. For always understanding the mystic nerd/cool balance. For shared dreams and high hopes, both of which, on occasion, have come to pass. Thanks for it all. And thanks, in advance, for being there for the next 40.

A toast, friends and strangers, to the very 40-year old Mr. Watts.

Go ahead. Ask him what he wants for his birthday. Then wait for the mom joke.

More old Chicos to come as birthday season continues! Viva La Casa!