I met him in grade 1 and instantly fell in love. Funny thing is, we weren’t friends right off the bat. He gave me a hard time sometimes and I would go off on him. He would say silly things and I would get busted for laughing. One little ditty he used to chant was “Knock knock, who’s there? Mickey Mouse’s underwear!”
We were on the same bus. We also took swimming classes in the same group at the Y. I was mortally afraid of water, having seen my cousin almost drown two years earlier. Louis was the only one who didn’t laugh at my screaming and squirming.
His parents and mine were acquainted. New Year’s 1978, party at hi parents’ house, invited mine. Louis and I were in the den, allowed to sleep, watch TV, or anything within reason until 1 am. The Muppet Show was on first. Ringo Starr was the guest, and sang “With a Little Help From My Friends”. I started doing high kicks, like Janice, and fell down. Then we played “Star Wars”. We both wanted to be Obi-Wan. “Only a mahstah of EEEEEEEVIL, Dahhhhth!”
In grade 3, my friend Christina found an pre-20th century etiquette book. It stated that on Valentine’s Day, a woman was allowed to propose marriage to a man. If he refused, he was then obligated to provide her with a silk gown and new hat, to enable her search for another beau.
We let the word get around that we were going to do this. Then, on Feb. the 14th, we struck. I chose Louis, Barbara chose Matt, and I forget who Christina and Amy chose. When the boys turned us down, as we’d known they would, we crowed in triumph and demanded our dresses and hats. The teacher had to intervene, saying that since all of us were below the age of consent, our claims were not valid.
In grade 4, our school was experimenting with a “gifted” program. That year, it consisted of working on supplementary projects. Louis and Christina and Matt and I were the participants in our class. Thrown together like this, we really started to bond.
In grade 5, our teacher was difficult. Very old school, would hold up the class for unnecessary lengths of time haranguing us about stuff like cutting through the rows of desks on our way to the door. I’m sorry to say that Louis and I did much to further the unrest of the class. I don’t have time to go into all of it, but teachers of the SDMB, I don’t think you would have liked this woman either. She just wasn’t trying to teach.
We also got a real “gifted” teacher that year, so the regular classroom teachers wouldn’t be overburdened by an extra agenda. Great idea. But oh lord, this woman was a piece of work, too. She never took into account the fact that, regardless of what brackets our test scores and achivements put us into, we were still kids. She could not guide us very well. She was accustomed to dealing with college students, and got very impatient when we did not respond as they would. But she could teach, in the sense of conveying knowledge to us. That saved the program from total meltdown. But Louis and I found plenty of ways to subtly get under her skin.
Then in grade 6, we were in different homerooms (it was homerooms now) but had most classes together, along with the gifted program again. This year was a little different. There was this one jagoff who would pick on other kids, mostly verbally. He specialized in ethnic slurs.
I had clashed with this guy before. In grade 3, he hit me in the face during a scuffle he’d started. We didn’t see him again up close until grade 6, and he was still being a cock. Jesus Christ, he called another friend (Korean) a “Chinese pig”! Louis and I fell into the habit of calling this kid “Nazi” and heiling when we saw him. I forget how Brian got drawn into this, but the three of us started calling ourselves “bounty hunters” and proclaimed that we were going to hunt down a Nazi. Next thing I know, the phone rings and it’s a shrill voice asking for “Miss Bounty Hunter”. It’s the kid’s mom. Well, my parents weren’t home, and I guess she had second thoughts because she didn’t call again. Instead, next day Louis, Brian and myself were called into the principal’s office and ordered to cease and desist from “harassment”. Great big hairy :rolleyes: Our parents were informed, but having already known our side of the story, we were not punished at home. (My mom also knew the parents of the kid who was called “C… pig”, and was outraged to hear of that incident.)
Still in the gifted program. It was a total geek paradise by that time. I could be here all day telling you about the good times (the last good times for such a long time…), but I’ll stick to one. The room was supplied with challenging games. There was one where you arranged four to six colored pegs behind a baffle. Opponent had to arrange pegs on the board, trying to recreate the pattern, and first player would indicated how many correct. Repeat until pattern complete. Well, it took ten to fifteen minutes of arguing, giggling and fooling around to even decide on this game, let alone get the damn thing set up. Settle into chairs across from each other.
Louis: I just have one question…
Me: [snort, giggle] Yeah?
Louis: How do we play this game?
LOL ROFL 20 GOTO 10.
And…this will sound like a lame excuse…but it’s because of Louis that I’ve never been into roleplaying games. We were just learning D&D that spring…and afterwards, I just couldn’t work up any enthusiasm.
He died.
Of course. What the hell else would I have been working up to. He was coming home from something; I want to say Boy Scouts, but Scouts don’t meet in July, do they? Anyway, Brian’s dad was driving. Louis and Brian and Clay Squire were in the back seat, in that order, right to left. Drunk and under-21 driver T-boned them. Brian was injured but recovered and Clay had to have therapy.
I was going to talk about the funeral but I can’t now.
I know we’re not supposed to post entire lyrics to songs, so this will be an excerpt. I also feel silly, having to change names and pronouns in a song that some probably find corny. But here it is.
Taken away so young
Taken away without a warning…
Think of Louis but laugh don’t cry
I know he’d want it that way
When you think of Louis, laugh don’t cry
I know he’d want it that way
I know you and you’re here
In everyday we live
I know him and, well, he’s here
I can feel him when I sing
Hey Louis, where are you now
Are you far away from here?
I don’t think so
I think you’re here
Taking my tears away
Think of Louis but laugh don’t cry
I know he’d want it that way
—Think of Laura, Christopher Cross
I just remembered something else. In grade 4, we had to describe ourselves acronymically. In other words, using the letters in our names as the beginnings of words. How can you describe yourself with a word beginning with “U”?
Unobtrusive.
The teacher said that was a very accurate term for him. He was so quiet, so well-behaved, such a little gentleman…Meanwhile he stands there with his halo glowing, not looking at me because then the butter in his mouth will melt. Few people besides me knew what he could get up to. Very few.
