Wish You Were Here

Talking to a Very Old Friend

LINKKBL: yea i still picture as what u looked like from CCA
LINKKBL: didnt we play like tigers or lions or something on the bleachers when we were super young
Cricket Hoebag: Tigers, haha! I haven't thought about that in so long. We were fierce enemies too I think.
Cricket Hoebag: with Gab C and Monica Rose
LINKKBL: i kind of remember it
LINKKBL: haha wasnt there like a queen or something and king or something
Cricket Hoebag: mmhm
Cricket Hoebag: I don't remember it, but I think we girls had a warrior and a princess too
Cricket Hoebag: I don't even know what we did with it
LINKKBL: oh lol
LINKKBL: i remember i got shocked lmao
Cricket Hoebag: hahahaha
LINKKBL: in the gym at that outlet
Cricket Hoebag: I remember that too!
Cricket Hoebag: Yeah
LINKKBL: i remember that day so well
Cricket Hoebag: It was spitting sparks that hit darrell and charred the wall
Cricket Hoebag: was it a paper clip?
LINKKBL: ha yea me frank and darrel were playn mario and i was mario and i found a paperclip and tried to get frankie to put it in the keyhole which was the outlet but he didnt so i did
Cricket Hoebag: haha, I never knew the story behind it
Cricket Hoebag: I always just figured you wanted to know what would happen
Cricket Hoebag: remember that time you got stuck in a tree because we hoisted you up in a rope? and we had to get Mrs. Kilmer?
LINKKBL: haha lol we was playn mario i found a paperclips/key
LINKKBL: idk i dont remember that lol maybe i do lol
LINKKBL: was it near the gate near the parking lot or in the playground
Cricket Hoebag: In the corner where the open area, and the playground were fenced off together and next to the road
LINKKBL: were there was like 3 trees in a row
Cricket Hoebag: Haha, yeah, and we stuffed you with leaves once and you ran around being a turkey near Thanksgiving and then you were really itchy and pissed off
LINKKBL: haha sounds like me but my memory seems to suck
LINKKBL: remember when whitney did something to me and my head bled
Cricket Hoebag: Yeah, sorta, I think she got really scared, but I don't know what it was
Cricket Hoebag: Were you still in school when Laura G's brother kicked a dogdeball through one of the chapel windows?
LINKKBL: i dont think so
Cricket Hoebag: yeah, I thought that was after you left
LINKKBL: but i think whitney and me faught over a basketball and she through it at my head
LINKKBL: threw
Cricket Hoebag: wow, darn
LINKKBL: yea lol
Cricket Hoebag: The two or three things I remeber from fourth grade, is when we had the praying mantises that hatched in the classroom, and when Rakeysha got expelled
LINKKBL: yea i remember the praying mantis thing and then the expelled thing but not so much of the expelled thing as the mantis thing lol
Cricket Hoebag: I feel like we were catching them for days
LINKKBL: did the teach send like 2 peeps out to let them go?
Cricket Hoebag: I know I was one of them
LINKKBL: i think i was one of them but idk
Cricket Hoebag: haha
Cricket Hoebag: we probably were
Cricket Hoebag: that's great
LINKKBL: lol yea

Ocracoke, 2008

This was the first year we beat my aunt down to the house because she lives in Durham, NC and we live in the Philadelphia suburbs, PA. We took twenty minutes unpacking our stuff, and another forty unpacking her stuff because she was "busy" doing some inconsequential activity. We made it to the beach that first day just in time to witness a woman being strapped onto a backboard and airlifted to a mainland hospital. Jack and I went into the water, but then they changed the flags on us to "No Swimming," so we had to get out. Later that evening we went to the Community Center to enjoy the swinging Oldies sounds of the seventies. Not many other people showed up, and the guitarist kept making eyes at me, but he was old and not he kind I am liable to be strangely attracted to. My brother got the Monster "BFC" and I got my first slice of Chocolate Mousse cake since last year. I denied myself a fork because I couldn't understand the cute kids' southern accent. I made my brother get fudge and a fork for me. The second day there continued to be strong parallel currents and no backboard, so no swimming again. Eventually we were able to go swimming again and I lathered on the SPF 45 sunscreen in an effort to rather be a mime than a lobster. I tanned instead of burned for the first time in my entire life. Tan will have to be considered into be factored into that motto. Usually I wear boy shorts with my bikini top. However, on one occasion, I switched to regular bikini bottoms halfway through the day and wound up being in burnt in the difference in skin coverage. Very painful. The waves were breaking too close to shore to be excellent body surfing or boogie boarding and our dad wouldn't let us look for the sand bar usually about 50 yards out. I napped on the beach and my aunt Karen and dad were spitting watermelon seeds on me to try to tan a design onto my back. I was already beyond that point, so it's unnoticeable. The hippi store didn't have as many buttons. I still picked up four and a t-shirt, but I missed out on the $20 zombie playset. Sending post cards this year was wonderful. I actually got them sent out while I was still on the island. Got too many though and accidentally sent JoeKat's to Hetty's. She got hers though, so I told her to throw his out. Ocracoke island is wildly populated by feral cats. During the entire trip we saw 17 individual cats, including one that came to our back porch to eat ham that looked like he was wearing eyeliner. The last full night, Friday, was a full moon and my brother and I went for a boring ghost tour. I enjoyed the stuff about history, but the ghosts were boring so my brother left fifteen minutes before nine to go pick up two liters of Mt. Dew. He's an addict. While not swimming I read The Invisible Man by Welles, Congo, A Clockwork Orange, The Amityville Horror, and the first hundred pages of The Grapes of Wrath. The Saturday we left, my brother and I packed up and loaded the car in half an hour, then my dad made us pack up our obnoxious aunt's car. She reads the New Yorker and lives in North Carolina. I think it's a tremendous waste. The last thirty miles I had to pee, but I listened to Modest Mouse and watched the red pink sunset over Wilmington.

Txts I've Saved

'i like black boys better than white boys, they're much more fun. Oh, and i tried cocaine! I think i'm addicted!' oh dear god lol
-Jeff

I like boys lol dont you
-JoeKat

Yea i dont' either but the sexy pose caught my eye
-Matt

God this bus blows
-Wasiq

Yea. Your name lends itself to dirty limericks.
-Matt

Jesus christ Alice Cooper has a deep voice for a girl. Wow. Amazing.
-Matt

Wow. They have a sport in san fran where you get a hamster...
-Matt

I think that meant good luck, so thanks! I won by like half a sec :D you should see me in this tiny black speedo. You'd love it.
-Dave

Thanks! It was Breaststroke. And partial is an understatement lol. You should see it sometime. You probably will.
-Dave

'Watch the tramcar please' was recorded by a woman named Floss Segal in 1949. Thanks philly magazine!! =P
-Jeff

You are insane. Completely insane. And i love you for it!
-Sarah

Haha me neither. Anyway, definitely a solid several days. I'm really liking hanging out with you. Why haven't we in the past?
-Dave

Dude same here. Its gettin tough. And I think different circles is probably right. Gotta change that. I'm willing to hang with band kids to get to you :D
-Dave

Can you imagine trying to make that serious? "People of the greater Philadelphia are, a serious lapse in judgement has reached epidemic levels. People across the Delaware Valley are suffering painful bee stings after kicking these vicious six-legged abominations."
-Dave

Every rose has it's thorns.
-Dave

Sad and strange as in dark summer dawns, the earliest rise of half-awakened birds to dying ears, when unto undying eyes the casement grows a glimmering square; so sad, so strange, the days that are no more
-Jeff

Oh yeah! Very high. Well done. I was very impressed and aroused. The lack of pants was fantastic lol
-Dave

Good thing. I think it would've been worse if i had been noticed though. You should dress like that more often imo
-Dave

Yeah i had a blast too. You're making this summer fantastic for me. Have a safe ride down to NC. I'll hope to hear from you soon. Sleep well. Goodnight <3 ;)
-Dave

You could always stay at my house. Haha imagine that in the morning.
-Dave

Dance!
-Dave

I totally take it back. It's really pleasant out.
-Dave

Did you get in alright? If you're not there yet, let me know when your all clear. I just got home.
-Dave 4:27 AM

Awwwwwwww!!!!!
-Sarah

Awesome. I'll be sure to get extra burnt then haha. If I didn't have to get up so damn early i would come over to your house. We'd still have a few hours to catch up. I kind of missed the target window for a goodbye kiss too :(
-Dave

Me neither. That was a solid attempt though. We're actually near Tuckahoe, NJ. Yes it's pronounced like you'd think. Every sign has an F tagged over the t. It's hilarious.
-Dave

Haha boomerang finals would be so epic. I would go to that. let's find out where they are in 09 and roadtrip.
-Dave

I'll ocean trip with you any day. We should do that sometime :D too bad you aren't here now or we could totally jack a boat.
-Dave

Definitely is. The clouds are so cool down here. Maybe I'll take our jeep tonight and drive back to bethel to take you back for firsthand look.
-Dave

Yeah yeah whatever. You only won the first time because i wasn't paying attention and you know it. And i didn't get away only because i was letting you keep me back! If it wasn't for you're being smaller than me, attractive, and female corrupting my otherwise go-for-the-kill mindset you'd have been toast!
-Dave

Aha i knew it. Well it worked and it will continue to work i think. Not fair. I think i need to pull some distractionary measures myself. Speedo, perhaps?
-Dave

Yeah vag clamp would become the more generic pubic clamp and would be evern more deadly. I think i may employ that strategy after all. This is going to be off the chains.
-Dave

And that's awesome. Spinoff series: the Xibit-files.
-Dave

Brandywine

I woke up at 7:30 this morning. Felt wonderful, listened to First Date, made breakfast, got supplies assembled for the trip, and didn't watch Clockstoppers because I forgot we no longer have a VHS player. My dad didn't know that I thought he was giving me a ride, but Viv drove me anyway. It took forever to get situated because we manually blew up some of the inflatables. However, for my pool Shamu, we used the electric one. Quote of the trip: "I'll hold it and you blow." Shamu sucks as a comfortable, efficient transport and occasionally I had to utilize the stand and dive method for catching back up with him. Matt's ocean worthy raft and the cooler got stuck on a rock and Gina bravely, barefooted-ly got him un-moored even though she said to me, "Let go, bitch!" I almost cried, but did let go. Abby gossiped a little, we saw ducks, and fish and trees and bugs. It was warm and pleasant weather, and deflating Matt's raft took so much longer than necessary, even though I enjoyed it. On the way to Zoup! in Gina's car, we listened to the TV Pokemon Soundtrack.

Excellent.

Danny Sals Update

Tom Hunter said that Danny has mentioned me, and although he gets excited about it, it's nothing I don't already know. No further clarification was given.

Nights and Days of Summer

For one of the few times in my life, my day began with midnight.
That was the agreed upon time for I to sneak out of my house and meet up with Dave somewhere along Kirk road in the shadows cast by an almost full moon. (It was almost full because Dave's anarchist calendar said the full moon was Friday). He left a little before midnight so that he could get out of Concord Township, which does have a midnight curfew for minors, and into Bethel which doesn't. The air was pleasantly warm and I got a little bit sticky, but there weren't many bothersome bugs. Crossing into the Farmer's Market parking lot I could hear music that vaguely sounded like the Grateful Dead or upbeat Phish. I txt'd Dave this and he responded with, "Dance!" By the time I gt the response it was out of earshot. A car pulled out of its neighborhood just as I was passing the entrance. "What are you leaving at midnight for?" I thought. Then imaginary hit myself in the head. Kirk Rd. is absolutely unpleasant at night, but better than during the day even though you can't see what potential sticker bushes I may have been running into to when I hid. We met up somewhere before Hetty's neighborhood, and then walked back in the direction he had come from. I was wearing black, so according to him I morphed out of the trees. Both of us had been scared the other was going to jump out of a clump of bushes and frighten them. Neither of us knew anyone too well in the area who wouldn't mind seeing us after midnight, so we walked to Wawa. Keith wasn't working, which was the only bad part of the night. Dave got a Strawberry Milkshake f'real and not f'fake. We talked about varied topics, YouTube, AP Chem, the USPS, Apple crashing the internet, and how we both agree that the milkshake machine in Wawa reminds us of Star Wars.

Dave knew of two places where we could sit and enjoy the milkshake. One he said was often covered in beer cans and cigarette butts, so instead he suggested we go to the Darlington Arts Center even though we weren't going to a lesson or a recital, nor were we hosting a lesson or a recital. He drank the remains of his melty strawberry shake, and I showed him my doodle summary of our most recent last Friday together and my vacation. He walked over to the asphalt, and although it wasn't warm when I tested it either, we both laid out under the cloudy sky. We talked for what felt like forty minutes like this, were startled by a meowling cat, and groaned when the Central Air in the nearest building turned on. At some point, we fell silent, and I watched the clouds pass in front of the moon and stars. Occasionally I would inhale and exhale and attempt to move my hand closer to his. After several microscopic movements closer, I finally managed to bring my knuckle into the slightest contact imaginable with his skin. SUCCESS! I was chilly, so I had to try very hard not to shake and break the contact. Aftertwo minutes like this, he reached over and took my hand in his, and we held hands silently under the stars and watched the constellations move for another hour. I watched the moon rise, saw a pentapus in the sky, exclaimed, "Salud!" when Dave sneezed after the lights went out, and closed my eyes and sighed and tried not to shake with what I now wasn't sure was just the cold or also anticipation. I could have gone for the kiss, but afterwards, what would I do? I didn't want to get up until the sun did. At about ten minutes until four we realized that we had to stop procrastinating because Dave needed to get into his house before his dad did, and I didn't know if I could get back into my home.

We parted ways on Featherbed with a very warm, enveloping hug, and I sang all the way home. As far as I recall, this is my song list.

Do You Believe in Magic?
Chasing Cars
On My Way
Lizzy
A bar or two of Wasted and Ready
Hallelujah
Wish You Were Here
Four to eight bars of Help!
Hey Jude
Let It Be
Old Man

Getting into the house, it was unlocked so I don't believe I was found out. I listened and sang along to Chasing Cars as loud as I could dare and I felt more like a crazy, emotional, silly, wonderful, romantic, infatuated teenage girl than I could ever remember.

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I woke up at nine and didn't get back to sleep for another half hour of so. Woke up again at two minutes before eleven when my alarm was supposed to go off. Got dressed, gathered books together for Nicki, ate an apple with a bottle of water, and listened to girly romantic music. Nicki picked me up for our Great Creeking Adventure and off we drove to her house. We had a slight problem finding the entrance, but we followed a deer run and then down the creek we went, attempting to find where it attaches to a larger river. There was great covnersation, some harrowing moments when I thought the earth had opened to suck Nicki's entire right leg into the mud, a few barricades to cross over, and some great pictures. We saw some large minnows, four tires, two No Trespassing signs, a loud German short hair hunting dog, a very large spider, a rather large black snake, two horses who were very interested in us, and neat blue green phosphorescent dragonflies. We got a little past a bridge on Temple Rd. before we decided our timeline could not accommodate further exploration at this time. We walked back to the bridge and then took Temple to Smithbridge to Nicki's house which according to her mom is about a two and a half mile walk. We talked the whole way back and saw a dead goldfinch, which was very sad because they are cheerful little birds I hardly ever see near my house and many Teamsters going by on their motorcycles. Nicki and her dad had the combined effort to create Boardwalk impersonating home made lemonade (my first of the season), and I enjoyed the wonders of sitting down and central air. Then, my dad picked me up at about four thirty.

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I puttered about, went to the renovated Safeway, ate a steak with some corn, and listened to wonderful music while lying out on my hammock at sunset. The weather was perfect with the most beautiful breeze. I weeded my tiny garden for a few minutes and then went over to my neighbor Greg's yard to talk to him and play with his Shih-Tzu puppy, Baily. At seven my dad took me over to Abby's house where I told my story of how adorable my morning had been and they talked about gossipy things that had gone on in Myrtle Beach. Then we went to Jeff's house. We sat out in the yard, and I waited for Gina at her house and met her grandparents. We came back, heard the thunder and saw lightning approaching, ate a bowl of lime Jell-O, and then went on an Adventure to the new ACME to find something more ridiculous than canned Octopus. Microwaveable Spotted Dick: Sponge Pudding in a can was the winner. Matt got Ginger Beer which is so incredibly powerful I couldn't stand it and my entire mouth was on fire. Then I asked for another sip. We got back to Jeff's, Abby had bought bread, Dave showed up, we all went to the basement and loudly screamed about Mac vs. PC. Jeff's mom got angry at us for baking (?) and then the night dissolved into talking and whispering and snuggling under blankets to avoid the basement cold and bringing cookies to Dave because he had left early and singing with Viv the most terrible, lewd, wonderful song in the world about crystal meth and oral sex. I then showered, changed into sleepwear, checked Facebook, checked Nicki and Jeff's blogs, wrote a blog, wrote this blog, and will shortly unchange, get into bed, listen to wonderful girly music, and fall asleep awaiting the morning.

xoxo
<3

Slightly Dehydrated Musings

The sky is a very nice shade of blue.
Nice is a vague word.
And then again, I don't know it very well.
In fact, it's not like it invited me in for tea and a sit.
But even if it did, the tea could be poisoned and the blue only pretending to be nice because sometimes mean people pretend to be nice so you'll like them, but they're actually just fakes.
So on second thought, I don't know if the sky is a nice shade of blue.
But it is pleasing to me.