Saturday night I am sitting at one of those tables where you are not sure if you have a waitress or not to get you drinks, or if you have to go up to the bar to get your own drinks, or if you go to the bar to get your own drinks if the waitress will finally come by and scold you for having gone to the bar when clearly she is right there…it is one of my top dilemmas in life, the kind of quandary only some great Buddha sitting in a pile of leaves could possibly provide the answer to.
I choose the safest bet for getting my alcohol on time and decided to hit the bar. The blonde haired bartender stared at me from across the way. Was she going to take my drink order or what? What am I part of the 8 legged circus right now? Let’s get on it Miss Vodka Maker, go make me some vodka! But she was just standing there, staring. She finally walked over and said definitively, “I know you.”
Me: “Ah, you do?”
Starey McStare: “Yes I do.”
Me: “Ummm, I’m sorry?”
Starey McStare : “No no, you went to camp right? Camp Huckins?”
Me: "Ohh yes! Why yes I did, ahh some good memories…but what division were you? I don’t recognize you..”
Starey McStare: “Oh , I was your division… but you didn’t hang out with me.”
I just sorted nodded. Figures. All I want to get is some friggen vodka sodas and I couldn’t be bothered to hang out with McStare over here. I was probably 8 and more fascinated by how tampons worked.
She just smiled though and took my order.
One year ago prior, I had a similar experience. I was in midtown when some 5ft 11 blonde chic stopped me on the street wearing this red checkered bustier top.
Checkers: “Hey, I know you!”
Me: “No, I am not Ginger Spice from the Spice Girls…now if you will excuse me...”
Checkers: “No no no… you went to Camp Huckins right?”
Me: “Oh, um, yes, yes I did.”
Checkers: “You were a CIT when I was there.”
Me: “Oh well it was nice seeing you, I have to go get back to...”
Checkers: "Boy was I scared of you…”
Now I was the one stopping and staring.
Me: “Excuse me.. scared of me?”
Checkers: “Oh yeah…you were always the lead in every lip sync!”
The. Lead. In. Every. Lip. Sync.
Was I really hearing this correctly?
Me: “Oh, um, I was? I guess, maybe I don’t remember.”
Checkers: “Oh yeah, and you used to be in the middle of the circle in every dance party!”
The Middle. Of the Circle. In Every. Dance Party.
It was as though someone had just punched me right in my 10 year old stomach.
I tried to swallow back the vomit that was creeping up the back of my throat.
It was just getting worse and worse. In my head I was begging for Checkers to stop.
Checkers: “Oh yeah and in windsailing you used to jump off the boat to try and hit on guys on the neighboring island…”
Oh sweet chutney Lord in Heaven. Make it stop. Just make it stop.
Me: "Ok ok, you are going to have to stop… I didn’t know that I made anyone , um, scared of me, per say. I don’t remember being that way, but um, I don’t sing in leads anymore and um, I wouldn’t be scared of me now, that is for sure..”
Checkers just stood there, all 5ft 11 of her, her perfect body and bouncy blonde hair, staring at all 5ft 2 of me. I had nothing on this girl. Nor do I think I ever did. But apparently, in her mind, I was 6ft 9.
In your childhood, how do you remember if you were mean? If you were nice? If you were the lead circle dancing girl?
Do you grow up to be the exact same person you were? If you played Sandy in Grease once, will you forever be Sandy? Will you ever just get to be some lousy back-up singer, or Stage Dancer#3?
I am going to come to accept my days at Camp Huckins as days when I apparently used my formable personality to bully over girls who would later on turn into models. Funny how life works, huh? If Checkers and I had seen each other in some bar, her and her beautiful leggy blondeness would be my biggest fear.
But apparently, even after all those years, I was hers.
