BFF...

...in our 6th grade memories. Last week, I learned of the death of my best friend growing up, Stacy Davis. I've been flooded with lots of childhood memories, thinking of things I haven't thought of in years, all the stuff we did together - which seems like it surely must have been everything! I don't remember exactly how we became friends. My parents moved and I started 4th grade at a new school, Rose Acres Elementary, and it wasn't long till we were best buds. My memory snapshots are the classic growing up stuff of late-70s/early-80s suburbia. We were always at each other's houses, doing one-legged spins on our swing sets, playing hours of Clue and Monopoly, being mean to our little sisters, listening to 45s and dancing to Shaun Cassidy, Andy Gibb, and the soundtrack from Grease. She loved the Bay City Rollers, horses and video games. Her family was one of the first to have cable and Atari and we watched the first MTV and spent hours playing Breakout and Asteroids. We rode our bikes everywhere, including the woods and creek in the Wesglen Estates park. I still remember her birthday and phone number - we were the reason our parents got the new invention of call waiting! Her family always took me with them to Pantera's Pizza, skating at Coachlite, and countless hours at the Maryland Heights ballpark watching her brother's and sisters' softball games and spending scrounged-up quarters on candy at the quick shop. I loved cinnamon Jolly Ranchers; she, giant Sweetarts. I, who have no drawing ability, was jealous in 6th grade when she wrote this cute kids book about tadpoles and even illustrated it. In the summers, we candystriped together at my mom's hospital, walked to the arcade and spent all our babysitting money playing Ms. Pac Man (and she was better than me), had suntanning contests (she won those too) and listened to music on our Walkmans, although tastes had now changed to Journey, Def Leppard and Billy Squier. In junior high and high school, her artistic talents and athletic abilities really came out. She ran cross-country and racewalked on the high school track team. In 10th grade, our friendship went separate paths after we both experimented with things we were too young to handle, things that eventually took their toll on her. I never saw her after high school, but I wish we could have reconnected and shared with each other the things that are important in our lives now that we are adults and so much has changed.

Stacy is more than just someone from my past. She was my best friend and part of who I am. We were good for each other back then, pulling each other along and doing life together for six great growing-up years. I was blessed to have her as a friend.