John Mellencamp "Cherry Bomb"

We all exchanged wordless looks across the Pizza Hut table, a mix of mild amusement and mild annoyance.

The restaurant's Jukebox (remember Jukeboxes?) was skipping. And skipping. And skipping.

John Mellencamp's "Cherry Bomb," stuck, forever repeating the line, "We were young~~We were young~~We were young~~We were young~~We were young . . ."

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In adulthood, you become friends with people because of the things you have in common.

But in middle school and high school, it seemed like many of the people I aligned myself with were guys who could make up for my deficiencies. They were outgoing when I was shy. Bold when I was cautious. Fun when I was responsible.

I'm sure it worked both ways. I'm sure I brought things to their lives that they felt was lacking within themselves. That's how it works.

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So there I was. In Pizza Hut. Bemused, but becoming increasingly annoyed at the skipping John Mellencamp disc.

I just sat there, waiting for the Pizza Hut people to do something.

Waiting. Waiting.

The same thoughts, I'm sure, were going through Tip's head, across the table.

But he was my flip side, and Waiting, Waiting, was anathema to him.

He quickly stood up from the table, crossed the room to the jukebox and fished his hand behind the machine.

Here is what we heard over the Pizza Hut PA system. (Listen to the full 30 seconds)

Part of me feels like if Tip wasn't there to pull the plug, I might've just sat through the noise for my entire meal. I think that I literally didn't know what to do.

But I had Tip, who could do the things I couldn't, and who, in that moment taught me a little bit more about how to be a complete person.