Memory #2

After a Saturday filled with boredom and family/self-induced mega stress I sought sanity in an old refuge MVP, otherwise known as Moon Valley Park. Armed with a sheet to lie on, my iPod, a book to read and a birthday card to write, I picked a familiar spot of grass near an old pine tree.

My stress wasn’t immediately subdued because minutes after setting up my arrangement, a makeshift baseball game of screaming young boys commenced a mere 20 feet away.

Fortunately my iPod rescued me, tuning out the adolescent fair vs. unfair arguments of the game, but I found myself put off again very quickly at the sight of trio of high-school-aged girls “parking it” across the way.

Who do they think they are taking up the sacred practice of The Friends of years gone by, I thought. But a second later I was flooded with the memories of some of my all-time-favorite days.

Junior year of high school my friends and I began spending our weekend days and often after-school hours doing homework, writing songs and just hanging out at the park. We deemed ourselves The Parkies and, in my mind, became pretty infamous.

Spring in Moon Valley never felt as magical as it did surrounded by my friends on that brittle dry grass when passing those hours struggling to figure out life, futures, relationships and AP U.S. History.

Here are some of my fondest:

- Westside wars with Sarkis
- The ambush by Jimmy following the stroking incident
- The drafting of “Overflow”
- Monsoon frog finding
- River rock peace sign construction

To the friends: What are yours?