I joined Facebook awhile back and I really enjoy it. It's an easy way to stay current with people you like and there are a few fun games you can play. But the thing I like best is that I have found friends on Facebook with whom I'd completely lost touch! People who meant a lot to me, going clear back to a time I could barely remember or for which I had just begun having cognitive memory. It's fantastic.
Today I got a message on Facebook from one of my very first friends. I don't know exactly how old J and I were when we first met, but we couldn't have been more than 3.
My grandmother took care of me up until the time she died at the age of 82. We did everything together, and since we did, she drug me along to one of her lady friend's house one day. This particular lady was every bit my grandma's age, and as my grandmother knocked at the door and we waited for Esther to answer, I remember hearing a little girl squealing and splashing in a bath tub nearby! I looked up and found that the water play was coming from an upstairs window next door to Esther's house and I asked my grandma who it was, playing and having so much fun. My grandma wasn't sure, but she promised to ask Esther, who would surely know.
After we got inside Esther's house and the cookies were laid out, my grandma asked Esther if there was a little girl living next door. "Why yes, indeed! Her name is J. " Then she looked at me and asked "Would you like for me to call her mother and see if J can come over to play?" Obviously, I was beside myself to think I could pass the time with a little friend instead of sitting in a dusty old chair watching my grandma and her friend trade stories about the "olden days"!
J was brought over a short while later. I don't recall much about the first meeting...must have been pretty overwhelmed when she finally arrived. I only know, however, from that day forward, J's and my friendship grew and we became inseparable.
J was not an only child, but her sister was significantly older than she and so she was raised alone, much as I was. However, J. was fortunate in that it seemed her mother bought her every new toy and gadget that came down the pike. It seemed like every time I saw her, she had some new play thing. I particularly remember a plastic, round device that went over the top of a soda bottle that was previously filled with water. The idea was to fill the bottle with water, put a "Fizzies" into the globe, attach it to the bottle and enjoy water that was magically transformed in a sparkling treat! J. was also the first kid on the block to have Barbie AND Midge, Creepy Crawlers, and the edible Creepy Crawlers. When we were smaller, she had an entire toy kitchen, complete with refrigerator, stove and sink. Her 'fridge even had real food! She had a pup tent, which we enjoyed using for our club house. We'd pick green apples from the tree above her house and bring them back to store in the tent. We didn't realize what the hot summer sun would do to a bunch of green apples. I don't think that tent EVER lost its smell! Later on, she got the little shed outside to use as a play house of sorts. We had much bigger ideas, however. WE turned that shed into the finest Beatles Fan Club House you'd ever want to see, and we held weekly, no, daily meetings in which we sang the praises of the Fab 4.
J was able to run all over the hill before I was, and for that reason, my dad named her the "Pied Piper". Funny thing was, every dog on the hill seemed to follow her wherever she went, and she was perfectly content with that. She was going to grow up and be a veterinarian or SOME kind of dog person, and she always seemed to scrape enough money together to purchase some kind of doggie treats for her four-legged entourage, most commonly "Lolli-Pups". Lolli-Pups were little round, multi-colored bisquits for dogs, and I swear, they looked as good as candy! One day, J and I were sitting on the side of the hill, feeding the dogs their daily treats and talking about nothing in particular. J suddenly decided that we should try the Lolli-Pups. Not one to miss out on a new taste treat (especially if it was candy), I jumped right on the band wagon. J decided I could try them first. I of course was a little hesitant - After all, they WERE marketed for DOGS. I finally popped it into my mouth and began to chew. This was followed shortly with massive spitting, choking and spewing! Let me tell you something - If you ever get the urge to eat a "Lolli-Pup", don't! They are NOT as good as they look, especially when you're 6 years old.
J and I owned the South Hill in Wallace for many years, until my parents purchased a house down the road in Kellogg when we moved. I missed J dearly; fortunately, our mothers let us spend the night with each other frequently. I shared most all of my "kid" experiences with J...Mexican jumping beans, roller skating downtown, troll dolls and our first boyfriends. We even bragged it up to each other when we got our first bras!
Somehow, about the time I was a junior in high school, J and I lost touch. Oh, I saw her once during an all class reunion, but only in passing. By that time, she and I were both grown adults and she lived down in Southern Idaho, far away from that south hill. And then, I didn't see her at all anymore. Until just the other night, on Facebook. J and I are both back in the valley where we grew up. Together again...LET'S DUST OFF THOSE BEATLE ALBUMS AND LET THE PARTY BEGIN!
