Day 39

Paradise by Coldplay: a tribute to the ones we lose along the way (middle school friends)

I’m a home body.

For as long as I could remember I’ve gotten homesick. As soon as I got permission to spend the night at a friends house I would call my mom in tears begging to pick me up.

First week of camp my freshman year of college I called my dad on his birthday. They were out at Bob Chin’s (my favorite restaurant). It didn’t take long for the water works to start once I heard the celebration in the background. Everything was so overwhelming – new place, new people, new chapter. Getting my ass kicked on the field was just icing on the cake.

Abroad had its moments. My first apartment post grad too, which wasn’t too long ago.

One way or another, the different paths in my life have drawn me back to where it all started. A blessing and a curse, a constant battle between exploring the unknown/uncomfortable and relishing in the roots.

When I’m home, I love to walk. I loved to take my dog B-Rad on walks when he was with us. My favorite parts about walking around the hometown are the memories that pop up along the way, and the people that come along with them. Most of them from middle school.

There’s a knook along the routine walk where the memories flood. They all go back to middle school – Central School to be exact.

At exactly 3:25 pm, classes would end. Unless you had sports, it was a right of passage to go to Little Red Hen, a local chicken shop just outside school. We would sit out there for hours with just no agenda whatsoever. During the summers we would bike over – I remember downloading a bunch of Kanye’s Late Registration (illegally) just to blare on their patio.

We got word that our local convenient store was changing ownership and lost it. We had the rebellious plan to barcade the enterance so they couldn’t get in. That lasted all of 5 minutes before the police came to escort us out.

And just outside that convenient store was my friends house. After our 8th grade graduation all the boys went to sleep at his while the girls slept a few blocks down. Me alongside two other friends snuck out and tried to get to the girls house.

side note – yeah drugs are cool but have you ever snuck out in middle/high school? Stop it.

Not only did we get caught sneaking into the girls house, but got caught going back into our friends house. We were like Hellen Keller trying to be Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.

Quite honestly, I could go on and on about the stories and the inside jokes but I don’t want to write it and I know y’all don’t want to read it. So I’ll leave you all with this.

One 8th grade spring day, a few weeks before graduation we were at my buddies place across the tracks. I had two friends that were next door neighbors; I was only a few away.

I had an old iPhone 4 with a Carolina Panther blue phone case. All of us were sitting in his living room, either waiting for rides or trying to decide what the next move was. I remember playing this song during our little intermission. I don’t know why I remember this so well, but as I scanned the room it almost felt like the ending of Coach Carter where that song would play and it would freeze frame each player on their team and what they would do post basketball.

I guess something told me in that moment that this was kind of it. We had our little group and our moments before entering the high school chapter, where we all knew it would change.

But in that blip of time, we soaked it all in. Now, that group from little Glencoe is scattered all across, ranging from LA to NY. One went on to go to Harvard Law. Another living out his music dream in LA. A few I still play intermural pick up basketball with (oh yeah, our middle school team only lost 1 game in two years, btw).

Occasionally, my middle school path will cross with another and I’ll be back in contact with an old friend during a special time in my life some 14 years later. It’s always a blessing.

You know when you run into somoene you used to know and as you both are scratching at things to say someone at the end goes “we should catch up sometime” or something along those lines?

Then usually the other follows up with “for sure dude” even though they hope to God they never run into them again? That’s like half of your 20’s post grad.

Although – I would grab a beer with any one of those guys that I lost along the way. I hope we could have a nice “remember when” conversations, even if Tony Soprano hates ’em.

I wish them all well as we continue our journies.