I'd let you ride my sting-ray bike with the steering wheel while I rode your boring bike with the flower basket in front. You could color with all the new crayons that aren't flat or broken and I would give you the last red otter pop in the box. We would build a fort together and I would let you be president while I was vice-president. When playing monopoly, you can use the car to be your piece while I pick something like the dog or shoe or thimble.
If you were my friend then, we would count to three before hanging up the phone. But I would stay on the line until I heard you actually hang up.
Goodbye!
Goodbye!
(silence)
Are you still there?
Yes.
Let's hang up on the count of three.
Ready?
Ready!
One... Two... Three.
bye!
G'bye!
(silence)
Hello?
Hi!
Hey! You were supposed to hang up!
I was waiting for YOU to hang up.
I was waiting FOR YOU to hang up.
Let's do it again.
One. Two. Two and a half. Three.
Bye!
Bye!
Hello?
Hello!
If you were my friend then, I would watch Star Trek with you even though I liked Lost in Space better. When we pretend to be The Monkees, I would play the part of Micky or Michael or Peter because you would want to be Davy Jones. In the movie theater, you'd get the seat closest to the center. We would speak in a fake language whenever we were in front of strangers. We would tell ghost stories shining the flash light under our chins and then fall asleep in our flannel sleeping bags with our transistor radios playing under our pillows.
If you were my friend then, we'd sware we would always be friends. And we would be. We would prick our fingers with a thumb tack and then rub our blood together donning us Blood Sisters.
And we were.
And we are.
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12 comments:
That is so sweet Shawn! you have a way of evoking childhood memories that flow out of you so easily. If I knew you then, I'd sure wanna be your friend! :o)
You have an intimate writing style, Shawn. The detail is exacting and targeted to touch the essence of a person's being! Your circle of friends must stretch beyond the blue horizon! Thanks for the morning pick-me-up!
oh danny! I just know we woulda been the best of friends!
Thank you Kate for your kind words. I'd like to think that you are right there in my circle of friends.
What a beautiful post! Shawn, this post shows what a sweet and generous friend you are. It seems you are the type that would give your friend the better part (e.g.: the other as president, you wait until the other truly hung up). It would be a privilege and a blessing to be called friend by you. I would love to do all those with you except the ghost stories part (I’m a scaredy cat!)
I'm a scaredy cat, too! So we wouldn't tell ghost stories whenever we're together. I now declare you as officially my friend Luci. And you really are. Without ever meeting you, I like you instantly.
...i bet you always gave your friend the bigger piece of cake, and the larger half of the candy bar, and the half of the cookie with more chocolate pieces too...
I feel so lucky to have found out in person that you are so wonderfully generous. I LOVE the transistor radios under the pillows!! Thank you for those childhood visuals, they warmed my heart.
I think we woulda been great friends! I STILL have my transistor radio...and I wouldn't mind at all being Peter when playing the Monkees (I liked him best)...I built tree houses 'til my early teens....and I always had a crush on Billy Mumy!
Shawn,
I love this! I'm so sorry I haven't stopped by lately because your posts always make me smile.
Your childhood sounds like mine - Lost in Space, blood sister, counting to hang up, forts, The Monkees (oh, Davy Jones!)... Yep, your childhood sounds like mine, except I have to admit I wasn't quite as good a sharer as you were.
Thanks for making me smile!
Hey Doodlestreet. Actually, I would have given you the entire cake but I might've taken the bigger half of the candy bar if I was able to distract you for a moment.
Hi Janet! I just saw Billy Mumy on a recent Twilight Zone episode. Did you know it's back on TV? He played the role of the little boy with the telekinetic powers. Now he's back and plays the father of a daughter with the same powers! He looks pretty much the same, only 50 years older.
Michele, Michele. Nice to see you!
Hey Shawn,
I still haven't gotten back to drawing much, but I still take lots of pics and I did add my Flickr button to my blog.
Oooo, can I be your friend? I'll ride the boring bike with the basket in front though.
Shawn, you need to write a book! And you could do your own illustrations.
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