This is kind of a continuation of the "...About Me," Blog because it confirms the fact that I actually wore Moon Boots all the time as a kid. I also think it's funny to remember what an awkward goof I was.
The following is a series of emails I had with someone that I went to school with from Pre-School to 10th grade. (Last name and Family names have been xxx'd out for privacy, as well as other personal things being removed)
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Hey!
I saw your name on classmates.com. Email me at xxxxx@xxx.xxx and tell me how you're doing.
Darcie Xxxxxx (now Zzzzzz)
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Too funny, I was on a date last Saturday night and she talked about finding her 1st grade boyfriend online and she asked me if I remembered the name of a girl like that. I said you were my girlfriend in Preschool.
Let's see, life update the quick version.
Married when I was 21, together almost 6 years. Very amicable divorce because we grew up and just kind of grew apart. Went back to school, graduated with a bachelor's in media arts and animation. Landed a dream job working for a company here in Vegas that designs game software for slot machines. Future is bright.
Anything else you can read the stupid stuff I put on MySpace.
myspace.com/kirkwb
How about you? I saw your schools on Classmates were UNC and another school (I glanced really quick) for psychology. And you're Mrs. Zzzzzzz now, any kids?
kirk
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Ok..here's the quick version…
Graduated from Eaton in 92
Graduated from UNC in 95
Got married to my Prince and Hero in 96—Xxxxx is a pilot in the AirForce and so I've moved a lot—Nebraska, Oklahoma, Washington, Texas, and now Kansas.
Got my Master's in Counseling in 2000.
Had my son in 2001—his name is Xxxxxx and he's now 5, in kindergarten, and will probably rule the world someday. He is in love with a little girl named Sarah at school and it's really just so weird to tell your kid "I'm emailing my friend from Kindergarten."
My daughter, Xxxxx, is 2 years old, and is the most beautiful angel you've ever seen—inside and out.
Sam, our black lab, is a Therapy Dog and is my "co-therapist"—I had my own practice until about 2 weeks ago—then I quit.
My mom lives in Greeley and my brother lives in Ft.Collins so we go back and visit as much as we can. BROTHER has been married for 7 years now, no kids. Every once in a while we go driving around and look at Eaton—it's really changed—gotten a lot bigger—they've even built new schools. The trees that we planted when I was a kid are a jungle now…I'm old…2 years to 35 and I drive a minivan….geez I thought I'd never make it past 24.
I remember your moon boots (silver with a red stripe?) and I still have the piece of wood you burned a picture of the horse on.
Life is good.
Darcie
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You still have that thing? Man, and I totally thought to myself (as I was doing it) that there would be no way you could resist the coolness that is me once you saw it... So I guess you read my blogs on MySpace since you mentioned the Moon Boots.
Darcie, if there is ever one thing you could totally do for me, it's to send me a pic of that horse thing I gave you. I think I remember it quite vividly, but I need to see it because memory can embellish it into more of a masterpiece than I'm sure it really is.
What a trip, it was worth the signing up for the 7 day trial for classmates.com (which I now need to cancel before they start charging me).
All right, so here's a few random memories I have just because it's cool to go back a real live this kind of stuff. If you want, write back a couple of your own or your thoughts on the ones I have.
Walking from Pre-school (Mrs. Gregory rocked, but all the teachers who made me drink that crappy Fruit Punch sucked) to kindergarten with you and what's his name. (I think it was Greg). Your competition for my Pre-school crush was a little dark haired girl named Nevada. (kind of a portent, now that I live in Nevada). I think I got to hold your hand under a coat, once, riding on the bus from Galeton back to Eaton. And during Homecoming the year before I moved away, I drove you home from painting the window of the Eaton Herald in my dads super-boat Buick. I think I have a picture of that day with all of us who painted that somewhere. And if you send me a pic of that horrible wood-burning horse I'll scan it and send it for you.
Congratulations the amazing family you have, Xxxxx sounds like a lucky guy.
And how bad-ass a first name is Xxxxxx? Your kid's gonna be a stud.
kirk
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I would be happy to send you a picture of the "The Horse Thing". I kick myself for getting rid of the letter you duct taped to the back of it. The box of chocolates that came with it are long gone…..sorry….
Greg Zwart—how could you forget Zwart? You think Buckendorf is weird… Oh, yes I remember the orange Ronald McDonald punch….puke. Mrs. Gregory was nice and soft and squishy, I liked her too.
Ok, I gotta get off the 'puter and like go to bed, I'll send some stories and pics of the horse thing tomorrow. XxxHusbandxxx liked the picture of the not-liger. You were not a nerd like Napoleon D.
Who the hell was Nevada?
Yes, Xxxxx is a bad ass name…..he's a bad ass kid. I'll send more tomorrow.
Darc
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Ok, 20+ years later this is the deal on the horse thing—I remember getting it in Mr. Gartrell's library with a letter taped to the back (covering up your brothers name somebody had previously burned into the wood) along with a heart full of chocolate….the letter was very sweet and mushy…..however I remember my general sentiment was something like—Yes, he is incredibly talented (but I knew that already) and this is very sweet and nice and flattering but um….no. What was it 5th-6th-7th grade? Funny thing, my love of horses still exists and even though I've always wanted to be a farm girl it's never happened but I took horse riding lessons 2 summers ago. Now if you would've presented such a jewel in oh say KINDERGARTEN when you were my dream boy well, that would've been something—but you were off chasing some chick named Nevada!
What color were the moon boots? I swear I've been trying to remember what they looked like all day—were they navy blue? You did wear them a lot—but whenever I think of moon boots –yep, I think of you.
I don't remember the holding hands thing—was it 4th grade? It must've been if it was Galeton—I remember having a crush on you so that doesn't mean it didn't happen. What I do remember is playing tetherball and singing "Eye of the Tiger" (should I say "Liger" ? HA!) till I lost my voice. Dang—I was cool. Remember the red shiny coats that said Eaton Middle School (?) on them? I think this was the era of passing notes—where boys and girls could not actually talk to each other but could only pass notes. Didn't you make a really cool rocket in Mrs. Dunn's class? So, like you vanished and stopped talking to me.
In high school I remember you in Mrs. Carlson's freshman English class—you and Trevor Schneider (what ever happened to him?) drawing stuff in the far back corner of the room. I sat in the row next to you—You guys would draw cars and robots and stuff –and you still stuck your tongue out in high school I remember……but not as bad as Tim Ward. Weren't you and Sean Kennedy buddies? He was weird….but smart and I often copied his homework.
I hope I didn't appear to be a snob—I was just trying to survive—I hated high school. Send the pic of the newspaper/homecoming thing. I remember doing it now that you bring it up and I remember having fun but that's about it.
Then you disappeared—I didn't know what happened to you—nothing—and then this. What a trip….
Darc
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You have made my whole week... Just like posting that god-awful picture of me from the karate class in a blog was cathartic in some ways seeing that plaque as an ode to my imortal corny-ness (It can't possibly called romantic in the 5th grade can it?) is so amazingly self referential that I can't wipe the Perma-grin off my face. Yeah, knowing Eric he probably burned his name into the back right after I made it when I left the room or something. He was forever doing malevolent things like that as a kid.
Duct-taped mush letter to the back? That about sums me up to a, "t." Let's see, I think it was 5th grade, and I was in the witches class (don't remember her name) that was the first class on the left when you came through the East Front door. I don't think it was in Gartrell's Library, unless it was moved after I placed it because I thought you were in the class straight across the hall from mine and there were valentine bags along the cabinet wall with the kids names on them for delivering valentines. The Hunk of Horse wood was too big to put in your bag so I ran a ribbon from it to to the bag to signify who it belonged to. (As if the big name on the front weren't enough) The chocolates I bought at the drugstore on the highway.
I think I disappeared from your memory after that because that was my last shot at impressing you. If my, "drawing skills," couldn't win you over I figured it was time to move on.
(that's right, I just typed that sentence about the relationship musings of a 5th grader with a straight face)
You're probably right about the Moon-boots being silver with a red stripe, your memory is a more reliable source as I'm sure I blocked it out like a traumatic experience until seeing Napoleon Dynamite brought back the repressed memory.
To finish the holding hands story, that was the 4th grade. I was friends with Kevin that year and he had a girlfriend so I needed one too. You were the kindergarten sweetheart and you were in a different class so I thought I'd give you a shot. I think I asked you, "out," in a letter or something, through Marcie Rossman (whom I've also talked to about a year or two ago online). I don't think there were really girlfriends and boyfriends in the Eaton School System... I think we just called it, "going out." The Zenith of that, "going out," was holding your hand on the bus on the way home one day. Not a single word was ever spoken on that busride home. I was way too intimidated and awkward as a kid attempt anything resembling conversation.
What was supposed to be the pay off of that, "going out," was getting to skate with you at the class skating party at the ring in Greeley. I'd spent many summer nights there and it was like home team advantage for me. I'd finally be confidant enough to skate with you during couples skating. The moment came, the DJ had the girls line up on one side ring with the boys on the other. The girls were supposed to come over and grab the boys as their partners. The song started and I eagerly looked for you.
Marcie Rossman skated up to me instead and broke the news. You were not gonna, "go out," with me anymore.
Man I was crushed. I think I got a few games of Centipede in while washing away my sorrow with syrupy cokes until the skate party was over.
The best part of the the whole, "going out," thing, and probably the reason you don't remember much of it, is that I was so quiet and introspective as a kid that I can't remember saying even two words to you. It's really funny to think back to how alien being a kid is now that I'm all grown up and all those old hang-ups are long gone.
Of course you have degrees in psychology now, because it is so perfectly fitting for me to confess all these goofy memories to.
I think 5th-6th grade was the highest level of geek for me. I wasn't friends with Sean Kennedy, he was even too annoyingly nerdy for me. 5th and 6th grade my friend was Ryan Lerwick. 7th and 8th grade I started hanging out with Johnny Garza, Trevor and of course The Randy Ray. Actually I think Johnny and I became friends after a fight in swimming class around the 6th grade. He was the natural born athlete of our class and so fast that I never landed a punch, but I think he respected that I didn't back down and we started hanging out right after that. His mom made the best breakfast burritos I've ever eaten.
Randy and I always had Science classes together and we paired up as partners for all the labs and stuff. I never did homework, but I always aced tests so I think he liked to copy off of me. He helped quite a bit when it came to getting me out of my shell. We ruled the school as freshman and sophomores. We got away with more shit than I could possibly put into one email (even one as long as this). I remember stealing the Vice Principle plaque off the door of his office and to this day it hangs on the bathroom door of a little sign shop in Bullhead City, AZ.
Football helped me grow out of my geekiness, too. It gave me an outlet to hit kids as hard as I wanted and my size was appreciated instead of frowned upon. Up until football I had that big kid complex where I had to be extra careful with other kids because if I hit them it was monstrous but if they hit me it was cute because they were so much smaller.
That freakin' horse is staring right at me as I write this and all I can think about is that I wish I would've spent more time on the calligraphy...
I think you and I always had different classes from Middle School on, and after the final attempt to win your heart I gave up. I figured you had better prospects or whatever.
I don't remember much interaction until we painted that homecoming thing on the Herald window and I drove you home. We talked probably more in that 5 minutes than we probably did the whole time we were going out in the 4th grade. I think I thought about asking you out again in that moment but it was quickly quashed with a thought of that damn horse thing still mocking me from under your bed or closet somewhere.
So that's all for now. House is on and it's the second best show on television. Enjoy the picture and the Newspaper clipping. Write back with anyhting else if you think of it.
Oh, and do you mind if I put all these letters in a blog? And if you don't mind, do you want me to change your name or do you care?
Hope you and Xxxxx get a laugh out of this (I still have a Perma-grin), maybe when your son and daughter grow up a little you can use this as an example that you really do remember what they are going through.
kirk
I'm the one in the Awesome Hot Pink shirt at the right. Darcie is the one just over my right shoulder.
There was a flood coming.
I swear.