The odd connections of memory
Just watched an episode of Lizzie McGuire, in German of course, dubbed in German. But it was your standard plot line ripped right from adolescence. Girl likes Boy, Girl starts seeing Boy, Male Best Friend likes Girl, Girl doesn’t like Male Best Friend back, Boy breaks up with Girl, asks if they can still be friends, Male Best Friend is there to make her smile but not tell Girl how he feels about Her. So anyway, as I said, the plot of a thousand teen-age movies or TV shows at some point or another, and it’s always back because it’s out there, and probably can remember something of the sort happening when you were the age of the actors.
But that’s not really what this one is about, similar, but again not. For you see, in college I had a couple very close friends, both named Jessica. But since they also hung out with another girl named Jessica neither of them were Jessica, they were Jesse and Jess. Now, not to confuse anyone, they went by these names long before they met Jessica #3, but it just worked out very well that way. Back to the story; there’s a part of me, and perhaps in others too, since I’ve seen this happen with other folks, that falls in love. It’s unexplainable, it rarely tends to happen at opportune moments, it’s very hard to direct, or predict where it’s going to hit next. Oh, and then you have to deal with it when it happens, that what separates the poets from the novelists.
Somewhere along the way I started to feel funny around Jessica #2 (here on out referred to as Jess, how I referred to her, now we’re on the same page). So, I thought about it, and started thinking about all those things you think about when you’re 20-something and start feeling funny about someone like I was feeling funny about with Jess. And just to clarify, this isn’t the funny where you look out of the corner of your eye expecting them to be doing something that violates national security, this is the funny where you try to make the good jokes, and be cool so that even though you were friends before, you don’t want them to suddenly not want to be friends anymore… maybe that’s just my reaction, but it fits and I think you can figure out what I mean.
So months went by and we got closer and closer, spent lots of time together, and somewhere along the line, I got her a small book of Shakespeare for her… and it was right around that time that I realized that I did love her, wasn’t that passion fueled desire love, but that other one where you know that your life is just better because they are in your life and that you will probably never forget them, no matter how long, or how far away they are.
So yeah, an episode of a Disney Teen Sitcom brought up memories of one of my best friends and how even though I miss her terribly, have her with me anytime I need her. In a way, at least, and that’s comforting. We lose folks, either lose touch, or more permanently, but we have this facility of memory that keeps their words, actions, and all those shared experiences somewhere for a while. So I guess what I have to say is, not all memories are good, but not all are bad either, so make them while you can, remember them while you are able. For one day, if we did something maybe even a little right, we’ll be in one of those good memories and will make someone smile.
K.
P.S. So Jess, I’ve been thinking about you again. Smiling.
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