Saturday, March 26, 2011
Chris was my BFF before there was such a thing. From kindergarten through elementary school, we were inseparable. We rode big wheels and bikes, played tag, climbed jungle gyms, explored the woods, had sleepovers, took care of his hamster, tortured his sisters (that's what boys did), and played till it got dark or until we were told us to come inside.
Chris was much smaller than me and a much better athlete, with boundless energy. He would go to the pond to play ice hockey in the winter and that convinced me to beg my mother to get me skates (even if they were figure skates, not hockey skates) and a hockey stick at Farrier's. I only used it when I played with Chris and we never fell through the ice. On my visits home, I'd see it in the garage and always remember why I got it. Since he was much better at hockey, I didn't use it very long.
On a trip to the shore with the Hubers one summer, (I had to get up at 4AM!). I saw Chris and his younger sister sit on a styrofoam cooler when we were on the beach. Without a beach chair for me, I gave it a try after coming out of the ocean and the next thing I knew, I was "in" the cooler. I think the whole beach at Avalon laughed.
I was glad to reconnect with him a few years ago when he and his wife lived in California but then as life took us in different directions, we lost touch again, and I'm sorry for that.
You never forget your first true best friend, and I never will. All the best to your family and I'm so sorry to have to write this. I still have that hockey stick and photos and memories of happier times as little kids.
