lostloverfound

So ya’ know how you just have this random thought about someone from your past? Like long-ago past.

I was just doing day to day house chores, and I had a thought pass through my mind about David M. Odd… since I was 7-years-old when I last saw him. David was this handsome boy, (think Alfalfa from the little rascals kind of handsome). Bright eyes and freckles.

He showed up in my backyard one day while I was swinging on the swing set. He introduced himself, and climbed on the swing next to me. I lived on Cherry Avenue and he lived one block over on Butternut Street. That was it. It was meant to be.

He walked me to kindergarten everyday. Pine Hill Elementary was three blocks away. He was a first grader so he knew the way to go. Once on the way to school, some ‘big’ kids started teasing me about being short. David simply took my hand. My protector. We always held hands after that.

Our little grade school romance continued on for a couple of years until the winter of 1965. I was going to have heart surgery.. a congenital thing. But it was an experimental surgery back then. Sort of a big deal. All went well, but I was out of school for several weeks.

It was on a Saturday morning, cartoon day. There was a mittened-knock at the back door. Valentine’s Day was coming and David had a surprise for me. I was in my pajamas, and ran to my bedroom to change clothes. Apparently I was taking a bit too long, because my Mom came and told me to hurry up, he’s getting over-heated in his winter clothes.

The most romantic moment, David brought me a little plastic heart-shaped box. Purple on the bottom and clear on the top. It was filled with candies, and a ring. (The kind with the adjustable metal band.) Be still my little heart.

One month later David’s family moved to a new house across town. David had to change schools. And we never saw each other again. (sniff-sniff).

So google being what it is, I typed in his name. And there he was. He’d become a state patrolman. He did safety training for kids at area schools. (Of course he did!) Unfortunately, I also found out that he had passed away several years ago.

To be honest, my fully-healthy heart felt a little twinge. It hadn’t occurred to me that he wouldn’t still be out there somewhere, living his amazing life.

You’d think this would be a good place to end this post. But, there’s more, cause, who can google just once?

I guess nostalgia and google got the best of me. So I did it again. My next long-ago love was Scott P. With a few taps on the keyboard, I began another little jaunt down memory lane.

Scott P. lived three houses down from me on Cherry Avenue. I had a terrible 3-year crush on Scott. I bet I walked past his house a million times during those three years. At the ripe old age of 13, I became quite proficient at ‘loving from afar.’

It was no real secret that I loved Scott. At least not after I wrote “I love Scott” in the wet tar on the road in front of the neighbor’s house. As luck would have it, my 9-year-old brother caught me, and told everyone. I’m sure you heard all about it!

I was so embarrassed I didn’t want to go back to school ever. Teenage girls are sooooo dramatic. To remedy this, I got on the school bus at a different corner. I figured no one would notice. Except that Scott had his eagle-eyes peeled on the front door of the bus. Yup, he caught me slinking up the bus steps and sliding into the first available seat. Looking right at me. He never even blinked! It was so hard to stare at him from afar after that.

The following summer, his younger sister invited me to a resort with her family for two weeks. I have no idea why my mom agreed. I believed the angels in heaven saw how sad and forlorn I’d been, and gifted me this glorious opportunity.

So many opportunities too. Over the course of that two weeks, I turned down Scott’s requests to spend time with me, over and over. I’m not sure why he kept asking. But on a Sunday evening with his entire family sitting in the living room watching Ed Sullivan, Scott made another attempt for my attentions. During a commercial, Scott asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. Right in front of everyone. Even his parents!

I think my guardian angels must have been on a work break. Cause my response still haunts me to this day.

I don’t now how “What for?” even came out of my mouth. But it did. There was the loudest gasp coming from everyone in that room. I guess they all had information that I was too love-blind to see. All this time, Scott had liked me too.

Alas… that was the end. I cried myself all the way back home.

Google didn’t have much to share. Just one article. An obituary to be more accurate. Scott P. had passed away just three months ago. He had gone into the military after high school and then went on to have a teaching career.

Both of these young men, boys really when I knew them. Had deeply impacted me. Enough so that a random thought would lead me down this path. I’ve been asking myself ‘why now?’ ‘What did I learn from these experiences with them?’

I think that life is giving me a reminder.

To not take things or people for granted.

To pay attention, someone is asking for my time, they probably really deserve it.

That love comes in many flavors, we should savor them all.

Life is full of the Unexpected.