Well I was just thinking today how many people have passed through my life. This is a thought that has crossed my mind many times from the time I was little to the present.
I moved a lot when I was younger which lead to me seeing and sometimes meeting various different people. This isn't to say that through out those times I had a lot of friends, but I did have a lot of chances to observe all kinds of people.
Today as with many other days I was thinking about the people who actually touched my life. There have been many people who have passed through my life, but only a small handle full has actually remained in my memories.
The first person that I remember was a boy from the first place I moved to. I wish I remembered his name, but he was in the kindergarten class with me in that first town I moved to. He was the first person in that school to speak to me. It was funny, because it was when he was introducing himself to me that I got in trouble for the first time. I was devistated. I know every kid gets in trouble for talking in class, but I had never been one of them before then. Well despite that rocky beginning we became friends and up for until I moved the next year we were friends. I remember that at one point he was dating a friend of mine.Yes, we were in first grade at the time, but it was that cute little kid dating. You know where you say you are boyfriend and girlfriend, but all you do is hold hands.That and the girl tells the boy what to do. I remember even at that age I thought it was weird to see a boy do something a girl told him to do.
The next person I remember is the school bus monitor on the Kindergarten bus in that same town. He was a great guy. When I got in trouble for the first time in school I remember I was all upset on my way home and he saw me. He sat down asked me what was wrong. When I told him I got in trouble for talking he laughed at me and told me everyone gets in trouble for talking at some point. He was one of those guys who knew how to cheer a kid up even when they are really upset. I was really sad the next year when I had to ride the Grade School bus and he wasn't there any more.
Then there were these two girls in Caldwell area who use to talk to me. They were really sweet. Unfortunately, I can't remember their names either. What I do remember is they were best friends who took me in under their wings. Both of their parents were divorced and I remember thinking how sad it was since they were the first kids I knew with divorced parents. At that point I probably was around oh I don't know first or second grade.I don't know. It just was nice to have people who wanted to be my friends. They also were the first people to have ever defended me outside of my two sisters who were just older then me.
I believe the next person in my life was from my short time living on Mt. View in Ashland. She was a girl I met my first day coming home from school. That day I got lost once the bus let me off at my stop. The problem was this.The bus let off at the end of the road and my Grandfather had a forest he planted above his house which blocked my view of their house from the main road. Since I had spent my summers visiting them and walking the area with my Grandparents I thought I would be fine finding my way home. What happened instead is I paniced and got scared. I wasn't sure I got off at the right stop or even if I was heading the right direction. Luckily God was watching out for me and most people in the area new my Grandparents. As I was walking, hoping, and trying to figure out if I was heading the right direction a car with a lady and her daughter pulled up. They noticed I looked lost and offered me a ride. Being the good child I was I said no. She then asked if I was lost. Of course I said I wasn't sure. Then the questions went on with where do you live and I answered "With my Grandparents". Whom she asked were and I responded with their names. Of course she recognized their names and told me she was a friend of theirs so she could give me a ride. Again I denied the ride since I didn't know if she was telling the truth. Eventually she had her daughter get out and walk me home. Not long after I got home the phone rang and she told my Grandmother how proud they should be of me since I wouldn't accept a ride from a stranger. Once my Grandmother got off the phone she made me a special treat as a reward. Then my Grandmother made it a point to take me to their house to have me thank them. After that she became a really good friend of mine. It turned out she was my age, but went to a private school. We had lots of fun playing together during that time. I loved going to her house.They had goats, chickens, roosters, horses, and she had more My Little Ponies then I have ever seen other than in the store. My favorite memory was when her pet goat was giving birth and her parents had to help the goat. Plus one of the roosters was her pet rooster. Which to me a tame pet rooster was just about as cool as you could get.
Once I moved to Wyoming for the first time I ended up making a friend who was a year or two a head of me named Jenny. I wish I could remember her last name. If I could I would search for her on the internet to see if I could find her. Out of all my pre-Oregon friends she was my favorite. Jenny and I met on the bus one day when I needed a seat. She offered to share hers and we started talking. Later when we changed trailer parks my family moved trailer parks we ended up moving into the same one she lived in. At some point we ended up going to each others houses a lot. Most of the time I was at her house since she had more room to play. She was one of the best friends I ever had. It didn't matter what her friends had to say about me she stood by me. I remember one of her friends came to her house and found out she was friends with me and started talking trash. Jenny just told her if she couldn't be nice then she didn't want to be friends with her and told her friend to go home. Then there was the time this one girl was making fun of me and started picking on Jenny. She never stood down. Not even when the girl pushed her. I on the other hand was afraid and still regret to this day that I didn't stand up forJenny the way she did me. During the time I lived there Jenny and I played together a lot. She was the first person I ever met with a pet skunk and at one point she actually had two of them. I remember she use to joke around about how her house was like the Noah's Ark, because she had two of every animal she had. There were two dogs, two skunks, two birds,and two rabbits. I don't remember if she had any cats, but I remember she wanted to be a vet. Then right about the time I was getting ready to move her family was moving back to California. Her father and brother were coming back from Alaska and they were all moving to California. I stayed in touch with her for about a year before I lost touch with her during my move to Oregon. If only I knew how to find her. Then I would have found all the people I wanted back in my life.
While I was in Utah I had a few friends. There was Reeses Pieces (his real name was Reese, but everyone called him Reeses Pieces). I had a crush on his foster brother Vihn who was from Vietnam. There was a girl who I knew there who was a definiate Tom Boy, but she wanted to be a fashion designer. She use to take her clothes a part and put them back together in new ways. I remember being fascinated by this and the fact that she loved my shaggy hairdo that was caused by my parent's and my disagreement about me getting my haircut. She was also the first friend of mine who had a pet snake. I remember her sneaking her Garden Snake into school. I really wonder whatever happened to her. She was so interesting. There was also the boy who use to walk me home from school who once offered to buy me a bracelet. Oh and made the mistake of coming up from behind me on a dare from his friends. They were walking behind me and told him to throw his arms around me. So he did and almost got kicked in the balls. It was so funny, because he jumped back and yelled "Do you know where you almost kicked me?". My response was "No, but you deserved it". After that he never walked home with the boys he always walked home with me instead. I think if I had stayed at either of the schools I went to in Utah I would have been fine, but especially that first school. Yet we only stayed there for a year and then my parents decided to move to the Oregon Coast.
During my move to the Oregon Coast I met this really wonderful girl who was blind.I remember the first day I met her. My sister who was at the time into doing plastic canvas and knitting was sitting outside when a boy told his sister to go talk to her. She watched as they talked and then the girl that was about my age walked over to her. They talked for a while when my sister decided to come inside the bus (at that time I was living in an old school bus my dad had started converting into a mobile home. Long story) to tell me she found me a friend. I came outsid and was introduced to her. Granted I only knew her for a short time,but it felt like I knew her longer. We had so much fun. She showed me her brail books and told me about what it was like to be blind. We played and talked about all kinds of things. If I only had more time with her I know we would have become best of friends. Unfortunately, we didn't have an address at the time and they had to go home eventually since their summer vacation was coming to an end. This was a short friendship, but one that touched me deeply.
Once my family landed in a place in Oregon it took me a while to start making friends. The first place we landed I didn't really make any friends. Then when we moved to a more permanent place I met a really nice girl on the bus who started talking to me and she introduced me to a boy that was a friend of hers.While on the bus the three of us became really good friends. At one point after I moved I lost touch with both of these friends, but earlier this year I reconnected with the girl. She is now an artist that is working on becoming known. Her artwork is wonderful and if you ever get a chance to go to Eugene, Or look for Meisha's work. I know you will be moved and will want to buy one of her many pieces of work. She does all kinds of art in many different types of media.
It is in my final resting area of Oregon that I also found several of my best friends. One is a friend who saw me in gym class and insisted I walk with her and her friend. This friend of mine I have lost touch with several times and yet she still has a habit of finding me any way. Hee hee. Then there is my friend who was pregnant when I met her and taught me about a lot of different stuff. Including how yummy french fries taste dipped in chocolate. LOL. The best thing she taught me is how nice people can be even if they have had a really hard life. During my time on the Coast I also met my good friend Jamie. She is the one who got me to start dating and pulled me out of my shell. What happened was we kept getting stuck together in Health and Gym so she decided to invite me to her house to get to know me better. After that we became best friends. I also lost touch with her at some point. This was after High School and we both had a lot of chaos in our lives. I also lost touch with her and with in this year found her as well. Then there is my bestest friend of all time. How we got to know each other is weird and a long story. Lets just leave it as she at first didn't like me, but due to things that happened she ended up giving me a chance. Lets call it fate or God intervening. Either way I am glad we became friends. She has always been there and has been a rock for me when I needed one the most. Granted even all the awesomeness I had in Oregon had to come to an end. Eventually I had to move.
This lead me back to Wyoming. Uuuugggghhh! The same town I had been in before. Well at least this time was better then the last. During that time I made friends with someone who I still am friends with despite some of the rocky times we have had in the last few years. I have that time period to thank for having my beautiful Goddaughter and her sister in my life. Had I not moved back I would have never met their mother and so I would have never known them. I lived there for a little while then moved to Washington and then moved back. While I was in Washington I did make a friend though her name was Lisa. Lisa was a good friend. After moving back to Wyoming I stayed there for a year and then moved to Arizona.
I met to many people here to name. Lets just go with I made a lot of great friends here both at school and after.
The whole point of this post is to show that I have met a lot of great people throughout my life. It was to remember them and maybe help you think about those people you have met along your path. Whether they are still a part of your life, you lost touch, or you recently have found them I think it is important to take time to remember them. These are the people who helped shape us and were there when we needed someone. They are the ones that remind us of the good times and that there is good in people still. There are a lot of people I didn't mention in here.I just went over the highlights of some of the ones who played a large part in my life. There were a lot more I remember and miss.
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