Thursday 13 #4

Thirteen Lost Connections JEN would like to find So there are six degrees of separation ? Most of these people are bookstore friends that I lost when one of us moved on. Where better than the blogosphere to see if they are still out there… 13 Amazing People that I have completely lost touch with: 1. Anne Marie McNamara: Crazy woman (now in her mid-thirties) who used to have looong red hair that she never cut. We went to high school together and she kept me entertained until she moved away… The last I heard, she had left Arizona for Chicago, because she heard it was a great town. No plan, no contacts, just heard it was a great town…but that was sooooo AnneMarie. 15 years ago? I think about Anne Marie all the time. 2. Jeniffer Darice Regan: My best friend in junior high, she became much more urbane than I could ever aspire to be when she moved to Santa Maria, dropped the Jeni and became Darice. Last I heard whe was pursuing her art, working in a gallery in Los Gatos, and flying around with her (Brazillian?) boyfriend. Thirteen Years ago? 3. Michelle Pellersels: The warmest, funniest person I’ve ever met. She lives in Hawaii, and I actually got a Christmas card from her last year after years out of touch. My children promptly spilled something all over the envelope, and the Honey threw it out. I’m hoping she’ll try again. 4. Wendy Hoffman: Wendy was an amazing co-worker from the bookstore in Chico, where she was majoring in Women’s Studies. Wendy was kind and generous to a geeky kid totally out of her league in a party town like Chico. She made sure that I was included in things and was amazing to sit down and talk to. When I grow up, I’d like to be a lot like Wendy. I hope she has kids where ever she is, because we need more of her in the world. 5. Robb Wolf(f?): We worked together in Redding, he moved down to LA, then stopped by to see me before he headed to the Pacific Northwest. Robb was into bodybuilding and Karate. Watching him eat a can of tuna and two raw eggs for lunch was vile, but he had a huge heart and a huge brain, and was a really good guy. 6. Nick Sage: Nick worked with me in Visalia, and the last I heard from him he was living in Montana while his girlfriend studied archaeology or paleontology (One of the two). Nick accused me of selling my soul for motherhood, and trading in my brain for baby bottles. I was a little shocked and bitter. Now I realize that I was trying so hard to be a perfect mommy in my new life, so nobody would know that my marriage was sh*t. I wish I could thank him for his honesty and his perception, because everyone else bought it for years, including me. I still have pictures of Nick as Hellboy for Halloween, scaring all the kids that came into the store. 7. Julia Smith: Julia was also in Visalia, I inherited she and Nick when I went to that store. Last I heard from Julia, she was living in San Jose with Eric, but was seriously contemplating moving back to the Visalia area. 8. Phyllis Rejoice Harris: I love that name. I loved Joy. She was a riot, but very sweet natured. When Joy walked into a room, everyone drifted into orbit around her. She was just somebody you wanted to hang out with. I’d love to know if she stuck with Marine Biology, or found something else. 9. Amanda Harris: Amanda was also a Visalia employee. I interviewed Amanda and Joy about three hours apart and I couldn’t decide which one to hire….I ended up with both. Amanda was tiny, and had this razor sharp edge to her. When Disney did the Hercules movie , Meg made me think of Amanda. Amanda ended up marrying Joy’s brother, Kenny, after I moved away. That kid had such a sharp wit! Very dry… 10. Joan Crider: Joan worked with me in Hanford, and she was an adult in ways that most of us were not. She was married to a minister, her kids were just starting high school, but she was the neatest lady. When I think of the Mitford books, they evoke that same sort of feeling. Joan was not perfect, did not claim to be anything close to perfect, but she was mellow and even tempered and just delightful to spend time with. My best friend ended up hiring her son, Nathan, when he graduated. 11. Carole Franklin: My junior year English teacher. She pulled me out of my loathing of all things school by nurturing my love of verbage. She moved away when her husband got transferred, and I cringe to think what she’d make of my incomplete college career, but she was an inspiration to me and I admire her to this day. 12. Cindy Kunakemakorn: I’ve probably misspelled that. Cindy was another friend from high school. My mom worked with her father, so I know that she was going to go to school for pharmacology (and would never have been the thong snapping girl from the country club). She went to visit her parents’ families in Thailand and ended up working in broadcasting for a while, I believe. She and Amanda (#9) would have gotten along beautifully. People were constantly underestimating her because she was a “nice Asian girl.” She was a cheerleader, which if you knew her, was hysterical, because there was never a less likely scenario. She was the angry cheerleader, because she had to deal with, well, cheerleaders. 13. Pat Grizzel: My first district manager, Patrick left B&N to go somewhere in Virginia, I think. Pat was a poet and a rebel and not ever politically correct. He paired me with my future best friend , Jen, and forced the Stockton B&N to hire me (I chanced upon him while applying for a part time job). I loved that man. Can I add an extra? 14.Jen Fikes: I’d really like to find her. At twenty-three she owned the world, had no fear, and made decisions based solely upon her moral compass. She led a very uncomplicated life. Of course, now that I think of it, she made a whopping twenty grand a year and drove 700 miles both ways to do laundry at her mommy’s house every other weekend… Maybe I wasn’t as independent as I remember. But I’d kill to have that self-confidence back—that body, too! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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