10:46 P.M.
I was watching �Everyone Loves Raymond� tonight.
I love that show!.
Ray had to give a speech at Roberts� wedding and he gave one of the best speeches I have ever heard at a wedding, but then again, I�ve only been to one wedding.
He talked about how even when things don�t go as planned we still manage to remember the good things, and the bad things come out a little humorous after we�ve accepted them.
I could totally relate.
When I think back to my memories of my friends I usually get a warm fuzzy feeling.
I try to remember the good times.
Sometimes things just don't work out in the end, but there are still so many great memories we had along the journey to the end.
I remember the day Lauren and I went to the carnival by her house. She told me to ride �The zipper� because it would be �COOL!� I got off feeling like an egg that had spent an hour bopping around in boiling water. Shortly after we walked away from the ride, I puked all over her shoes.
I could never forget the day I walked into that two story white house. We made eye contact and my hair stood on end. Zach walked up to me and introduced himself and time seemed to stand still, or go by in slow motion.
Slumber parties at Chrissy�s house in grade school where we would make cookies and homemade French fries.
Parties at the beach house. Always listening to the �Fugies,� and playing pool when we should have been studying for a Marine Biology exam.
Meeting famous people because it was part of the life of dating James.
I remember being stranded on an island for hours with James, falling asleep in his arms thinking about what I would say if I ever saw my other friends again.
I remember the smells while sitting in a German restaurant with Gina, Travis and Nicky. We talked about weddings and taking a trip to the driving range I had never set foot on. I remember it was by far the worst restaurant I have ever been to because they put sauerkraut on everything, EVEN THE PIZZA! But the company was priceless.
I remember eating lunch with Ryan and his mother and hearing that I was one of the first girls he had introduced to his mother.
I remember the summer in Colorado, sitting on the couch with Glen, and Ben reading and sharing our poetry with each other for hours until Curt came in to ask us what we wanted to do for dinner.
Pool parties at Richey�s house.
Christmas parties with friends.
Going to The Dali Museum with my Psychology class senior year. It was the day I looked at Jay in a whole new light.
Prom with Jay.
Late nights at the radio station with James.
I remember climbing the stairs at Helen Hunt Falls with Curt and wanting to puke my brains out after I looked down at the people on the ground. The people were so small that they looked like ants.
I remember my sisters 18th birthday when I took her to see her favorite band. We had front row seats in the center and I remember the way she smiled when they sang Black Balloon. It was amazing!
Sitting in a gazebo wearing a white t-shirt that was 3 sizes too big with Durran waiting for the lightning to let up so we could run to the car.
I remember sitting on Heidi�s bed after she had her tonsils removed. We listened to music for hours and wrote notes back and forth because she couldn�t talk.
I remember parties at Shanna�s house that seemed to last all night.
Or the time Sabrina and I put Sun-In, in our hair and the look on my moms face when I went home for dinner. "Kelly, do you KNOW your hair is ORANGE!?!?!?"
The day I met Joey on the streets of Ybor city with Jess. His smile and charm was timeless.
Talking on the phone for hours with Akis thinking he was Noah, a guy I had a huge crush on in high school. I should have been mad at Mike for playing such a mean prank but we�ve been friends ever since.
I remember sitting in my car, in a rainstorm talking to Krisco about how he felt when his mother died.
Kayce, I remember the day she had heard that her ex had found a new love. I ran out to her car in my cowboy gear to surprise her and she laughed her ass off. I remember how we were inseparable for the longest time. I remember the road trips, the concerts, and the long talks about anything and everything.
Justin, he was a prick! But I Still remember the day he showed up at my house with a dog and a dozen roses.
I think of Kitty, and how he sent me the largest bouquet of flowers in the history of mankind.
I think of Vinny and I remember sitting on his couch playing with Alley (his dog). I remember the night he made me watch �Good Will Hunting�, because he thought something would click in the back of my mind. He thought I would wake up and realize I was running for all the wrong reasons.
Then there are more memories from high school. I still have this picture next to my computer of Missy, Meg, Jenn and I. We took the picture before we all packed into the car to head to Halloween Horror nights. We all took Vivrin because the excitement we felt the night before the trip didn't allow us to get a wink of sleep. Not only were we up for the BIG EVENT, I didn't sleep for 3 days!
I remember things like trips to the beach with Pete, or walking around the flea market with Troy on Sunday just to waste time.
Corey, he was a real dick, but the number one memory in the back of my mind was sneaking out my window with Amy so we could all go sit around his house laughing and telling stories until the sun came up.
The first night I met Gabriel he swept me off my feet. I could have sworn he was an angel in disguise. He danced like a pro and my problems melted away.
I remember the road trip with Jr. and Kitty when we drove out to Orlando 6 years ago. We walked the cobble stone streets of Old Town and a bum ran up to me to give me a picture he had drawn of the city.
I remember camping at Amy's dad's house in the middle of no where on the coldest day of winter.
I remember the first time I had ever had flowers delivered to me. I was in class, 11th grade Home Economics class. Jim skipped school to brind me a dozen roses. He lived 20 minutes away and didn't even have a car. He paid his best friend 25 bux to drive him to my school so he could drop off the flowers.
I remember sitting with Dan, crying with him in his bed the day his sister died. We talked for 8 hours about the things we had never told anyone else.
I remember working at Checkers with Amy and Meg.
I remember Amy's wedding.
I remember one time in high school when I tried to get Amy out of trouble. It was the night Amy invited Roy over to hang out and he ran around in her parent�s pool while the paint was still wet. I remember taking the blame, and I remember how her mother told me a few months back that she always knew it wasn�t me because my footprints didn�t match the ones in the pool.
I remember Keith. I remember sitting atop Missy�s stairs, and the incident that later became labeled, �Stairway Denied.�
Or the times Jovan would come over and watch 3 maybe 4 movies in a row sitting with me on my bed bored out of his mind, but he still stayed.
It is memories like these that stick. I can still smile after friendships were severed and sometimes even regretted. I have found the strength to remember the �Good Times.�
I don�t talk to many of my old friends, but I would love to thank them over and over again for such wonderful memories.
The tragedies in my past fade and don�t seem so bad. I�ve grown up a bit and I�m happier to have kept the lessons I�ve learned when things didn�t work out as planned.
It�s not just friends I�ve made along the way, but the strangers that have helped me build stories in the back of my mind.
They have become a part of my own history.
They are like photographs that are tattooed in the back of my mind.
Those were the days�.
I hope these memories never escape me.
*^*^*^*
I�m not invincible�.
I am tangible�.
I remember the good times,
No matter how complicated and difficult
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Watching �Everyone Loves Raymond�, I started thinking about wedding speeches. I wonder who would stand up and put in a word at my own ceremony. Who would speak, and what would they say?�..
