Olive Noises | Main | Psychedelic Gardener
April 10, 2006
Long Island, 1989
I have been looking for this photograph for a long time and was growing concerned that I had lost it. That's me on the left wearing the jeans with ankle zippers and the red glasses. And that's my best friend Karen on the right, rockin' the slouch socks over the leggings. The boy in the middle was both of our boyfriends at one point or another. Not sure where he wound up but I did go to senior prom with him out of default.
Karen is my oldest friend. She might kill me for posting this horrific (but endearing) image of us, but what the hell-- she's in Italy right now eating good food and soaking up culture. Some give and take.
Anyway, Karen is my oldest friend. We have known one another since we were nine-- 20 years and counting. Our closeness has waxed and waned. After college, during which we didn't really see one another at all, Karen moved back to New York and later, she and her husband lived in Brooklyn for a bit before departing for Virginia. Since that time, we have grown closer and I realized the other day that we probably have more in common now than we did when we were eighteen.
It's a nice feeling to know that you are a piece of someone's continuous history. It is even more touching to realize that, at some point, our nine year olds will most likely meet one another. Furthermore, that concept seems almost tangible at this stage in our lives. Perhaps one day we will stand in front of one of our houses or apartments, line the two kids up in all of their awkward splendor, and snap a picture like this. In some ways, it sends shivers up my spine. An evil grin on one hand, extreme nostalgia on the other.
Posted by callalillie at April 10, 2006 7:25 AM | Old Enough to Have Way Back Memories
I'm not ready for that. the kids that is. alas, the fate of the homo, I may always have to be uncle jay-jay.
Posted by: j at April 10, 2006 9:20 AM
My oldest friend lives in Virginia. We passed our twenty year mark in 1998. We met in kindergarten and attended the same elementary, junior high and high school. We lost touch after high school for various reasons, only seeing each other in passing around town. I did not even know he had moved to VA until I moved to NYC. I happened to find his listing during an extreme boredom kill at work one day in 2002. We now keep in touch regularly and I visit him and his family 2-3 times a year.
Posted by: ccs178 (Chris) at April 10, 2006 9:29 AM
those red glasses are hot. really, really hot. not as great as the jeans though. those take the cake.
Posted by: tien at April 10, 2006 9:35 AM
Love your pix and story. So much that I reprinted the last graph on Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn with a pix of my daughter (age 9) and her bestest friend. Taken when they were 8. Louise
Posted by: louise at April 10, 2006 10:02 AM
So, this morning, yours is the second blog I decide to type in my browser. First I went to Lisa's (who reads you regularly).
Spooky.
Posted by: Bill at April 10, 2006 11:25 AM
This cracks me up.
I have a lot of friends from elementary school that I am in touch with- most that I've grown out of touch with and then reconnected with. The funniest thing is when we see each other it's like not a single day has passed, even if it's been 20 years.
I have two friends from that time that I have been in continuous touch with- one who is awesome and amazing and I talk to all the time. The other is a recovering crack addict and hooker.
Posted by: phc at April 10, 2006 12:08 PM
Ankle zipper jeans must be weighing heavily on the collective unconscious lately.
I guess it's time to delurk. Hi.
Posted by: Lisa at April 10, 2006 12:55 PM
Yes, but you had the awesome feathered hair. I was never able to achieve that. Instead I tried some sort of poofy pompador thing. I need to find that photo...
Posted by: corie at April 10, 2006 12:58 PM
This looks remarkably like the photo in Back to the Future (the one Marty keeps checking to see if they disappeared yet)?
Posted by: Tiya at April 10, 2006 3:42 PM
I had those same glasses.
Posted by: Sally at April 10, 2006 6:54 PM
Is that Williamsburg, Brooklyn 2006?
Posted by: Suburbia at April 11, 2006 4:38 PM
So, you think you can get away with this just b/c I'm in Italy?? Ha!! This is charming. I'm not anymore embrassed than anyone else is about their 12 year old selves(!). Thank you for honoring me on your blog--for sharing our story with your readers. Just do me a favor, and after the wedding make sure we get an attractive updated photo up here just so people can be assured I turned out allright. ;) I'll go drink some vino rosso for you. Con affetto, Kar
Posted by: kar at April 12, 2006 3:53 AM
