Throwback Thursday

Me and Samantha, with Aimee, and Richard in the background
Aimee, Richard, and me, selling Kool Aid and playing Bows and Arrows. It must be warm, I’m in my bathing suit

Aimee was my best friend in Fairbanks during the years we lived downtown. She lived kitty corner from us. I think she went to Montessori with me, actually, though I don’t remember for sure. She and I found each other on Facebook a couple of years ago, and she told me that when she first saw me, she thought I was a boy, because I had short hair.

My mother was an atheist, and Aimee’s parents were very religious. I scandalized the neighborhood when, after checking the facts with my mom, I yelled across the street to her (in front of the people coming out of the church, and the people coming out of the library, small town, everyone knew everyone), “You do not either have to be a virgin to get married, Aimee Desrocher! My mom wasn’t!” Poor mom. Luckily, Fairbanks was not the kind of town to put a lot of stock in virginity or propriety.

Aimee had an Easy Bake Oven, which we loved. I remember that we did the math and figured out our dogs’ birthdays, dividing 365 days by 7, then counting out the days. We would celebrate our dogs’ birthdays by baking them cakes made from canned dog food in her Easy Bake Oven. They loved it.

Aimee’s mom was really into vitamins, and Aimee hated them. She used to throw them under the sofa when her mom wasn’t looking. I learned a valuable lesson, and started throwing my glasses behind her fridge. My poor mom, those things were not cheap, and we didn’t have insurance.

We spent so much time together, we laughed and played and ran around. We played with our stuffed animals. I don’t remember her being into dolls either. She even had a Smokey Bear. We talked about horses. We were very different, and very similar. Now we are Facebook friends, and we are very different, and yet, very similar. I agree with what she says about 1/3, sometimes 1/2 of the time. She has horses and is kind and loves her family. She is more conservative than I am. She is one of the few people that I know from that time of life.

6 Comments

    • J

      I know! My poor mom. She won some blog award somewhere once for the most embarrassing story from a child, so at least she got something out of it.

  • nance

    That is a very intimidating Koolaid stand.

    I often wonder about the value of reconnecting with childhood friends, either in real life or on social media. If people didn’t stay in contact as friends, and if they are very different, do they just do a lot of “remember when”? Is it just “here is my life now”, polite reciprocation, then…that’s it? Is it enriching? I wonder if Facebook, for example, isn’t just sort of facilitating The Thrill Of The Hunt in some cases.

    • J

      I’m a big fan of reconnecting, because I have some dear friends that I lost over time, and am SO GLAD that I got back. I reconnected with my dear friend Neva, and I helped my mom reconnect with her dear friend Kate, through Classmates.com. Is that social media? Perhaps not. I’m sure that in many cases, there is merely the thrill of the hunt, but I think it can be great to get in touch with someone you lost touch with, and even if you only check in via Facebook or whatever, that can be OK.

  • Ted

    Social media has certainly made it easier to connect, but sometimes it really shows how different our lives (and beliefs) are as adults, huh.

    • J

      It does. It’s surprising sometimes that someone I love can be so different than me. But sometimes that the joy of life. As long as they’re not fascists or whatever.