Monthly Archives: June 2013

There’s an ecard that sums up the friendship JDL and I share: “I hope we’re friends until we die. Then I hope we stay ghost friends and walk through walls to scare the shit out of people.”

It’s a magical story, truly. It was a sparkly clear December day in 1989, and my Mom drove us across the river so that we could ride on a horse-driven sled. Along the way we stopped at a house five down, where another young girl lived. She had been dreaming of the day that she would be swept off her feet in such a fashion, for a sled ride and some ice cream, and that day had come.  I was 12, she was 11.

We were really lucky – Not only did we live five houses apart on a busy street filled with neighbors who bought their houses before settling into making baby boomers, but we went to the same small school, only a grade apart. She was a dancer, and had photos of all of the Bedazzled outfits she wore for shows and a dance studio on the third floor. She had an ever-changing collage above her bed, and had pierced ears and could watch PG-13 movies. I sewed scrunchies, which she wore loyally. I started a rubber stamp notecard/ t-shirt/ bookmark business called “Coloristic, Ink” [get it?] and taped Scholastic posters to my rolling window shades, because I wasn’t allowed to tack anything to the walls. I showed her all of the haunted places at our house, from the ivy-shrouded passage beyond the basement and the Alice in Wonderland hole [what?!] in our woods.  Together we dressed up in tube socks and kicky skirts [ours] and full make-up and crimped hair [hers] and walked up and down our street, waving to the senior [citizens] that drove by. At least, that’s how we remember it.

We’ve been, like, best friends ever since. With the top two girl names for about a decade and our shared love of Color Me Badd and Boys II Men, there was no separating us. We know the names of every crush the other had, and quickly bring them up even now when one simply must humiliate the other. Works every time.

When someone new comes into the fold, they must hear 24 years of jokes and jibes that are so practiced that we don’t finish one before the other tells the ending, therefore making fun of herself. That’s what best friends are for. So – Thanks to my current Superhero, and future ghosty! You put the “awe” in “awesome.”

P.S., friend: I’m including the “D” in “JDL.” Because I know the truth.

P.P.S.: I fully expect a phone call about 2 minutes after I post this. I hope I can hear you through the screamed laughter.

I’ve been trying to write my thanks to Csz for months. She should have been the first – Not because she drove me to the hospital two (three?) times in one year. She made sure I packed what I needed for a stay in the ward. She is eminently practical when that is the most important thing. She’s the one I talked to before starting this blog.

Though she’s the reason I started the “Superhero Shout-Outs,” it’s not for traditional healthcare support. I just couldn’t put the words together to write her shout-out. I’m going to try now:

She is Generous: The least of it is the way she puts the coolest packages together. Whether it was her intention or not, I have one of her gifts on or in my bag about every day. So whether or not I have the jade hoops on, I see the Stephen Sprouse book on the shelf across from me whenever I relax on the couch at night, and touch the gorgeous scarf in the morning that reminds me of the sea. She recommends books and movies, too, and they’re spot on.

It works the other way, too. I often listen to a mix that I created for her, because it matches a certain event or mood that we’ve talked about. It’s like she’s with me all day.

She is creative: These packages she creates – She knows what someone needs when. It’s a talent to know how to predict that. She also recognizes others’ talents, and gently suggests that a person try a medium that is  the way her friends and family can express themselves. I am indebted to her and G. for the encouragement and tools they’ve given me to take photographs – And she goes above and beyond when she asks for collections of the photos I’ve taken, because she loves what I’ve done.

She Doesn’t Try to Mold with Expectation. She leaves it open-ended. And then she champions the product because it was made with the talents she encouraged in the first place.

She’s Available to Talk and if she says she’s busy, she calls back. She remembers all of the nearly two decades of conversations.

And, duh, Csz is smart. Book smart. She hears a lot about that. I wanted to share with all of you the other stuff that makes her my superhero. The superhero.

With tears at the corners of my eyes, I will end here: I would not be the person I am today without her support. It is true of every “Superhero” I write about. It is true of her. Thank you.