A Phone Call Surprise

And quite a surprise it was!

It was my first love. Yes, I'm talking about first love, as in school days. Talk about a blast from the past... I hadn't heard from her in over 25 years.

Although it sounds like a totally amazing thing to have happen, it's really not. Here's why:

Her brother and I were best friends in high school. He still is a great friend, but we've drifted apart as people do, so we're not best friends any more. He lives nearby in Puyallup, and he's the one that I had lent my welder to recently. One time when he was over he mentioned that his sister asked about me, but before he gave her my information he wanted to check with me. I told him, "Sure, that would be cool. Go ahead and give it to her."

Dan and I used to be inseparable. We went everywhere together and were always sharing some sort of adventure or another. After all, we only lived about a block apart. He is the only boy in the family, and has 3 sisters. Tamra is the oldest of the three, but back then they also had an adopted girl too that was slightly older than she but still younger than Dan. Tamra reminded me of our "turning point" the other night when she called. It went something like this:

I went over to her house one day and she answered the door.
"Hi," I said.
"Dan's not home," she explained.
"I didn't come to see Dan." I admitted.

I had known Dan for a few years before all this transpired. I was actually interested in the adopted daughter, but it never went anywhere past flirtatious stuff that kids do. One day I must have had some sort of epiphany or something and realized that the right one for me was right there under my nose the whole time. Tamra and I were a great couple and were together constantly for a few years after that. As many people do, we drifted apart when I went into the Air Force.

She is living in South Dakota now, and has been for some time. She lived in Los Angeles for quite a while after she left here way back when. I she has two kids grown and gone, and she's divorced. I guess she is at another crossroads in her life and wanted to hear a familiar voice, so she called me from the bar stool she was keeping warm the other night. We had a great conversation, but it was fairly short. We have lots to talk about and I'm sure I'll hear from her again. Because Dan and a few of her friends live here, she visits the area occasionally. I told her she'd best be stopping in and spending some time with me next time she's up here, and she agreed. It's great to be back in contact with each other!

Well, I'm going to go in to work for a little while this morning. Bruce and I are going to be monitoring the installation and doing the hookups on a new CNC mill that's being delivered this morning. It should be sort of fun. I actually volunteered for it. I'm sure I'll be outta there before lunch time.