Somewhere in the slow pace of summer, in between the sunrises and sunsets, the reruns of 70's sitcoms and begging my brother for rides out of our suburban neighborhood, my friend, Jeff started dating Laura York, and that's how I met her. It was the slow and uneventful pace of these high schools summers that we took for granted that I now long for as an adult. Laura filled these these summers for me of happy memories.
We both admitted later how we both had seen each other on the bus, but were too intimidated by the other to talk. I had a long scar on my neck from a boating incident over the summer, so she thought I was tough (which I wasn't). I couldn't get past the matching spider and web earring that she wore with her ripped fishnet stockings, and her hair that she dyed every color of the rainbow and teased out straight. I guess that we were both in awe of each other.
If I could have recorded her saying two things they would have been, "Do you want to come over and listen to cassettes?" I want to hear her sweet voice again; the voice that could convince you that anything she suggested would be fun. We spent countless hours listening to cassettes through the one object that was in her her family living room-the boom box. We shared music that we both loved, and discovered new groups together- The Smiths, Nirvana, The Smithereens, The B52's, The Replacements.
The other question she would ask was, "Do you want to come over and sun your buns?" At that point we had matching neon pink swimsuits, and we chose that summer to get the best tan by either lounging on her small back patio or biking to Ward Lake and lounge at the glamorous boat launch. The gravel there would bear into your skin if your towel wasn't just right, and often our tanning session was interrupted by people needing to launch their boats.
These summers together laid the foundation for our friendship, which grew into 30 years. As I remember this woman I smile as I recall how much fun together, and how she helped get me out of my shell, as she did for so many others.
