Back when I was in primary school, my best friend was a boy a year older than me, and taller than most of the teachers. After primary school, we went to different secondary schools, and lost touch.
A few years ago I discovered that he had become a basketball player, and was playing for the NBA in the USA. This was one of those “Oh, yes, that makes sense…” moments. I mean, he really was taller than almost all the teachers at age 11; that’s not hyperbole.
Today, I find that he’s the subject of a long article on the Guardian website. John Amaechi has come out as gay. He’s also written an autobiography, which I will have to read. (The link on here is to Amazon US, but Amazon Japan also have it, so I’ll get it from them.) From the bits of information mentioned on various websites, he had a lot of problems I didn’t know about at the time. But then, I was ten. Given the nature of the problems, it’s not surprising I didn’t know about them.
OK, yes, part of the reason for reading the autobiography is to see whether I’m in it. I suspect not, as we were only friends at primary school, and, judging from the material online, most of the important things in his life happened later. Come to that, the most important things in most people’s lives happen after they turn eleven. But hey, I lost touch with my best friend from primary school, and now I get to read his autobiography. I mean, how cool is that?
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