I'd like to share with you a moment that happened today that is really the raison d'etre for my decision to start sharing my thoughts here. This way, in case you want to find someone or something to blame, you'll have it.
I've never lived more than 45 minutes from where I was born, and I'm good with faces, so I tend to recognize people quite a bit. Whether or not they recognize me is generally inconsequential, because I tend to keep these discoveries to myself. I would hate to be that weird guy who approaches you on the street, reminding you that we shared a psychology class seven years ago, and how I remember that you always smelled like lavender.
Anyway, I was at an outdoor shopping center today, wandering (as I tend to do), when the door of the store I was passing by opens, and this beautiful gal emerges. We make eye contact for the briefest of seconds, and I instantly place her as someone I went to summer camp with many years ago. We were never close by any stretch of the imagination, though she is always someone who will be burned in my memory.
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It was the year I was training to be a counselor, and our group of adolescents were staying at the camp overnight. Despite being a fairly awkward 14 year old (who wasn't?), I had delusions that something magical was going to happen during those 16 hours "on our own", and that I'd likely be far more of a man in the morning than I was the day before.
We wandered up to the pool, and were partaking in the usual splashing, dunking, and other flirtations that occur when you combine a bunch of teenagers in swimsuits. The girl in question (let's call her Eve, for the ease of you, reader) was relaxing in an inner tube, apart from her usual social group.
Being the incredibly considerate guy that I am, I sidled over. I must have made some sort of stupid joke (common occurence, I assure you), because she rolled her eyes and kick-splashed water at me.
Naturally, being a ticklephile who also has a penchant for piggies, I warned her that those sorts of actions would result in dire consequences. She grinned, and splashed me again.
I darted forward, placing her tender feet within reach, and with an "Don't say I didn't warn you!", proceeded to tickle her vigorously.
Eve squealed with laughter, and was either stuck in the inner tube or just really comfortable, because while her feet kicked and squirmed, she remained relatively still. After a minute or two, I stopped my assault. She was red-faced, but smiling, and good-naturedly stuck her tongue out at me. Before any more could be said, her groupies had returned, and the moment was lost.
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Flash forward fifteen years, and we have returned to today's chance meeting. I don't think Eve and I have said a hundred words to each other since that day in the pool, but there was no doubt who I had seen.
I continued on my wandering, trying to subtly detect which way she was heading, and I was happy to discover she had crossed the street, but was still heading in the same direction I was. I slowed my stroll, letting her get ahead, getting the chance to see how she looked, since it has been easily a decade since we had last worked together.
She was still a beauty, but looked uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the shin high boots with the 3-7 inch heel (guys don't know the specifics) she was wearing, but she seemed to be wincing. She disappeared into another store, and deciding not to be a total creeper, I continued my shopping.
Ten minutes later, I'm getting into my car, when I notice Eve is doing the same a few spaces down from me. As I begin to back out, I see her stop, lean up against the trunk of the car, and unzip those painful looking boots.
With a large amount of willpower, I (slowly) pulled out of the parking lot, glancing over as I did. In yet another permanent memory, I saw those same bare toes I had tickled years before, peeking out from under her blue jeans.
I turned onto the street, leaving Eve in my rearview mirror, and the thought of a blog post in my head.
I've never lived more than 45 minutes from where I was born, and I'm good with faces, so I tend to recognize people quite a bit. Whether or not they recognize me is generally inconsequential, because I tend to keep these discoveries to myself. I would hate to be that weird guy who approaches you on the street, reminding you that we shared a psychology class seven years ago, and how I remember that you always smelled like lavender.
Anyway, I was at an outdoor shopping center today, wandering (as I tend to do), when the door of the store I was passing by opens, and this beautiful gal emerges. We make eye contact for the briefest of seconds, and I instantly place her as someone I went to summer camp with many years ago. We were never close by any stretch of the imagination, though she is always someone who will be burned in my memory.
_____________________________________
It was the year I was training to be a counselor, and our group of adolescents were staying at the camp overnight. Despite being a fairly awkward 14 year old (who wasn't?), I had delusions that something magical was going to happen during those 16 hours "on our own", and that I'd likely be far more of a man in the morning than I was the day before.
We wandered up to the pool, and were partaking in the usual splashing, dunking, and other flirtations that occur when you combine a bunch of teenagers in swimsuits. The girl in question (let's call her Eve, for the ease of you, reader) was relaxing in an inner tube, apart from her usual social group.
Being the incredibly considerate guy that I am, I sidled over. I must have made some sort of stupid joke (common occurence, I assure you), because she rolled her eyes and kick-splashed water at me.
Naturally, being a ticklephile who also has a penchant for piggies, I warned her that those sorts of actions would result in dire consequences. She grinned, and splashed me again.
I darted forward, placing her tender feet within reach, and with an "Don't say I didn't warn you!", proceeded to tickle her vigorously.
Eve squealed with laughter, and was either stuck in the inner tube or just really comfortable, because while her feet kicked and squirmed, she remained relatively still. After a minute or two, I stopped my assault. She was red-faced, but smiling, and good-naturedly stuck her tongue out at me. Before any more could be said, her groupies had returned, and the moment was lost.
_______________________________________
Flash forward fifteen years, and we have returned to today's chance meeting. I don't think Eve and I have said a hundred words to each other since that day in the pool, but there was no doubt who I had seen.
I continued on my wandering, trying to subtly detect which way she was heading, and I was happy to discover she had crossed the street, but was still heading in the same direction I was. I slowed my stroll, letting her get ahead, getting the chance to see how she looked, since it has been easily a decade since we had last worked together.
She was still a beauty, but looked uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the shin high boots with the 3-7 inch heel (guys don't know the specifics) she was wearing, but she seemed to be wincing. She disappeared into another store, and deciding not to be a total creeper, I continued my shopping.
Ten minutes later, I'm getting into my car, when I notice Eve is doing the same a few spaces down from me. As I begin to back out, I see her stop, lean up against the trunk of the car, and unzip those painful looking boots.
With a large amount of willpower, I (slowly) pulled out of the parking lot, glancing over as I did. In yet another permanent memory, I saw those same bare toes I had tickled years before, peeking out from under her blue jeans.
I turned onto the street, leaving Eve in my rearview mirror, and the thought of a blog post in my head.
