And everybody went 'Awww!'

The only people for me are the mad ones. The ones who are mad to love, mad to talk, mad to be saved; the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!" -- Jack Kerouac, On the Road

I think ol' Jack would have liked Lara. And had she been his friend, she never would have let him slide into the alcoholic funk of his final years. She would have called him up daily and said, "Hey Jack, you fat ass, get yer running shoes on, dude, I'm comin' over!" For all the times you did that for me, Lara, many thanks. Happy Birthday. -- Pat