Happy Birthday Miss 24!!

Today is my best friend's birthday. Because she is my senior (one day she will regret rubbing it in my face that she is SOOO much older than me--like one day after she turns 30). For the first time in 5 years we haven't lived together in over a year. That being the case, this December 5th has made me realize the Lingan-ness I have been missing.

Memory:

Pond. Every day. Need I say more? No, but I will. Remember when I dove (in the four foot pond) and swam underwater and came up with mud all over my face? Now ya do. "A pond!" run run run. Jump. splash?

Does everyone here realize that we have known each other for 13 years?

Memory:

After playing together nearly every day at recess for the first year that Lindsey had been living in Rupert, I invited her to come over to my house. We were sitting on my bed and she said, "I want to tell you something. I have been thinking that, after my mom and Ariel, you are my best friend."

I was so overwhelmed, having lost my first best friend to a family move. I had no idea how far this friendship would go.

I was re-reading a note I wrote to Lindsey and Trevor when I moved away from Provo that said, "Lindsey: I don't know what it is about you, but I just miss you when you are gone." I realized that it was so true. I am so used to having her around that even after a year I still don't think I comprehend that we are separated.

Memory:

When we were in sixth grade Lindsey and I STARRED in the school play "Treasure Island". When we auditioned (of course together) she said, "I am auditioning for Molly." I looked at the script and saw the only other girl name and said, "I am auditioning for Jaime." It wasn't until after we scored these two roles and went to the rehearsal that I realized Jaime was a boy. We were playing brother and sister. I decided to role with it. We got to fight a lot, which somehow set the stage for the rest of our friendship. She got to play the cute girl who kept everything together. I got to play the boy who knew something as bizarre as pig-latin, as if I even had to study to learn it for the play. I already spoke pig-latin. Kami was the pig-latin king. haha. When I asked my mom if we were good actors she said, "It sounded just like you normally do." Do you know how many times we were told in our freshman year how much we sounded like a married couple. I did the cooking and Lindsey did the slapping. So abusive.

We have just got so much history. I mean, playing the band, owning the river, ordering Mchicken's with "no shred" and driving in the white escape. Watching movies our entire freshman year, sleeping in our cave, complaining that our roommate was too clean, eating burritos, storing drumsets and DDR in our tiny apartments, going to Vegas, finding Rachael James Mulder which led to the fantastic magic of 113. The fact that if I wanted to keep writing for three pages and still not coming close to all that we have shared is giving you a glimpse of 13 years of fortune.

Memory:

Following Mark (now our old roommate's husband) at the first ever inight because we thought he was soooo beautiful. Remember running around trying to avoid Spencer whatshisname because of how you ditched/broke up with him. Or I think, rather, you avoided his phone calls and stuff thinking that you wouldn't run into him in Rexburg. You know, since he was from Idaho Falls far, far away.

Did you guys know that our teachers our freshman year still remember us? Brother Baron thought I would try to bring up polygamy when I told him she was getting married. We took almost every general class together. I mean why not? We had to take them anyway. Why not take them with someone who will help you procrastinate your homework even more--American Idol was on.

Memory:

Before you had a laptop, remember when I sat with the Darth Vader mask and a blanket over my head while using the computer in Rachel and Hannah's room? What a weirdo.

Remember hanging out at the Ridge's lounge because we wanted to play pool?

The truth is I could be here all day. The truth is that when Lindsey and Trevor finally started dating, I started going a little bit crazy. She kept saying stuff like, "I really like him" and she kept wearing his best friend necklace. I never consciously thought, "This means that we are over and I am not her best friend," but it must have been a underlying force in my overprotective tones of bitterness. That is when I formulated my plan to graduate and abandon her before they got married and abandoned me.

None of that is true, it just turned out that way. Here is the truth about Lindsey.

My best bday surprise was when she called me and after years of bantering and denial she said, "You are my best friend. I love you."

I can't shop with anyone but her because it is too weird. We have a system. It works. I can't figure it out with anyone else.

Lindsey is the reason that I walked up to a few street musicians in Italy and sang 3 songs with them. I didn't post the video because I cracked on a note and was embarrassed to play it for you. She always told me, "You should do it," when I mentioned something I was too scared to do like join a volleyball game or hit on a guy or something. I was alone in the street when "Dream a little Dream" came from the sound of their guitars. I walked up and just started singing. I even made them a few euro. She has always been an enabler. Which has not always been a good thing, but mostly.

Lindsey is not only a great listener, but also a great pseudolistener. No matter which skill she is using, she makes me feel like I can talk about the phytl tail in chlorophyll which makes green plants change colors if cooked in acid. She has had to put up with a lot of wild ideas and fantasies, and yes a lot of "I love Aragorn, not Viggo Mortenson, but Aragorn" and Harry Potter talk. But I never really felt stupid. I mean, I felt stupid from doing stupid stuff that she enabled me to do, but not when I was expressing anything to her. I love this. And then the sucker married Trevor. Deep down, she can't live without the fantasy either.

I am so glad she married Trevor. The person I thought would take her away from me forever ended up adding to the relationship. I think I am still messed up a little from graduating without her, moving away, her getting married, then leaving all of my 113 girls (or being left by them) to come to a country all alone. But in the end, Trevor made the transition pretty smooth (maybe because it took three years, but I am not complaining).

Lindsey poo poo pie, here's looking at you, kid. Stand up and take a bow.


Do you know how hard it was to find a pic of just us? We seriously need to remedy that. there was only this one & I had to cut everyone else out.


Well, or there was this one, but I don't think it shows your best side.

This one is nice.

With love from a different time zone,

magster da . . .
mags
maggot the (really, you made me say it)
G
double G