Wrasslin', Table Tops, and Darts. Yo.

[Whoa, Long December by the Counting Crows just came on the iPod. Definite movie moment.]

I gotta be honest, I was a little apprehensive about doing a The Group blog. In some ways the distance from then to now spans lightyears over an empty vacuum of space. In other ways I have healing wounds that still ache when the cold rolls in and clings to my bones. Every one of us are well into our own adventures (some of us skipped town completely [cough]) and we've picked those with which we keep in frequent communication and those we keep communication infrequent. Is it too soon? I wonder, I wonder.

[Now it's Under The Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers. That must be for you, Andy.]

I've caved because I like the idea that even those partial memories of all of the fun and drama we shared -- from so many varying perspectives -- can live in one place with the possibility to live on in other spaces, growing with more and more grandeur as the stories get told and retold as details get added and subtracted, depending on the teller (Would you like to withdraw? Which account is this coming from, again? Checking?)

[Quiet by John Mayer. Contemplative.]

Those wrestling matches were so rigged! Nena put up a valiant effort, even though she had to fight one of the two ninjas in the group.

[Star Spangled Banner performed by Jimi Hendrix. You can tell I'm taking my sweet ass time writing this out, huh?]

That picture really takes me back. Look at the sexy boys! Rarr! Alex was really workin' the camera, too. I was quite decidedly heroin-chic and the Andy-Man/boy (let's face it, we were so very young) was channeling the handsome stud and I think Mark was playing up the innocent school boy. Don't you feel just a little dirty and ashamed when you look into Mark's eyes? Something inside of me wants to yell out, "No, wait! You don't understand! I thought he was an adult! Please don't throw me in jail and put me on the sex-offender list!" Way to go Mark.

We split into obliquely obvious gender groups. When did we fish Nena's vest and bowtie out her closet? Or, was it mine? I know the shirts Andy and Alex are wearing belong(ed) to Nena. This wasn't after the Hillcrest Theatre Dept. awards ceremony, was it? My hair is too long. Anyway, the designated boys played darts. I felt bad, because a) we sucked, b) were bored with the regular throwing styles and so created ridiculous backward bending, across the face throws which only made us worse. Except I think Andy and I might have scored a bull's eye a couple of times, c) our destruction of Wayne's dart-tips left a guilty pit in my stomach which lead to his x-mas present of new darts. Which I think we destroyed. Sigh. It was fun, though!

After the pictures, I think we played that drama-geek board game (which was awesome) and (again!) we were very obviously paired-up to play. The whole affair was a bit awkward, though exciting for me; my apprehension at getting close was in direct conflict with the idea of this strange new person.

[Trigger Happy Jack by Poe. Don't worry Nena, it's just a coincidence.]

When Nena and I conspired to get our friend groups together, I don't think I imagined it would work out as well as it had. Hey! That's when I met Suz! I think.. I didn't meet her at the Thriller showcase thingy, did I? I might have.. Gar! See, I don't want my posts to be like this all the time. Anyway, I'll try not to let that happen. Crazy times.

Trogdor!

This is just a small memory if anyone remembers more please add a comment or your own post. But does anyone remember when we ordered pizza from Little Ceasers and put it under the name Trogdor? and when we went to pick it up Andrew sang the word Trogdor to the girl behind the counter and she just looked at him like he was some kind of freak. I don't remember all of the details, but I remember that it was sure funny.

-Heather

My first group memory

The one night that we all got together at Nena's and met for the first time. I remember that we went to the school behind her house to go play. Some one said "Let's have a wrestling match!" So we all paired up. I remember Nena being with Ricky, I think Suz was with Alex, Heather and Andy and I got paired up with Mark. I didn't know Mark that well at that time so it was awkward to body slam into one another.
Mary: So, um yeah that was fun.
Mark: Yeah, now what do we do?
I think is how the conversation went while we watched everyone else go at it. The funny thing to me is that I don't remember a lot of what we did that night. I had to rack my brain when Suz told Andy she wanted copies of the pictures from that night. But I could tell you exactly what I was wearing that day, down to the socks. My jean overalls, red 3/4 sleeve shirt with the v-cut rhinestone front, red and white striped socks and my blue and black tennies that I called my Athletic ballet shoes.

~Mary

Okay, this one time...

At Mary's house, we were there for a sleep over, party, or something. There was this coconut she had for the longest time as decoration sitting there in her kitchen. I just returned from a family trip in Hawaii. I had learned how to open a coconut and was quite excited to try out this new found skill.

I grabbed a semi sharp rock and cracked it across the seams that ran on the outside of the hard shell. Sure enough it split in two. A brief second later our nostrils were assaulted by the odor that burped from it's recesses. Gagging, we rushed outside as we finished opening it. There was a reason it was for decoration. The insides had long gone bad and was rotting from the inside.

To cover up the evidence we dug a shallow hole, scrapped out the inside and buried it. I swore it was groping for an exit from the hole before we put the dirt on it. We filled the house with some sort of air freshener and scrubbed the shell thoroughly. Having two halves of coconut shells, you can only imagine the fun we had. Come Patsy! *Clip Clop, Clip Clop, Clip Clop*

-Andy

The first time we all got together.

I remember the first time we all got together at Nenas parents house in Sandy. I was a little nervous and excited to go because I knew that I was going to be set up, well in a way. I remember vividly going down the steps into the basement where everybody was and seeing Andy for the first time. I knew right away that he was the one I was being set up with because we were the only ones there over six feet tall.

We all had such a good time posing for the camera, boy we were all such hams, did I say were? we still are a bunch of hams. That night was one of the best nights of my life thank you all for being my friends I don't know what
I would have done without you.

-Heather