Hey kids, it’s Pete Beck appreciation day. That one day a year — other than his birthday — when we tell Pete how much we appreciate him, just for being a cool guy. Just for setting up the keg. For playin’ in the band. For not calling the Authorities on my crazyass girlfriend. I know that if I had the energy to cheat gravity and ease some big boxes down from the high shelves of the closet, I could find and post an amusing photo of Pete, circa 1982. But I don’t. So a few lines from the English Beat will have to do.

“Mirror in the bathroom
Recompense
For all my crimes
of self defense.
Cures you whisper
make no sense
Drift gently into
mental illness.”

I thought about the Dead Kennedys, but … well, no. Not even for Pete. I also thought about Journey, just to watch the cat lick it up, but I don’t know you all would get the joke.

So here’s to you, Pete. May the wind be always at your back. Next year, maybe we can get Jerry Falwell to sign a card for ya.