There was an amazing girl that opened my eyes in so many ways. We used to talk for hours and just dig each others company. We were so different and she was incredibly out of my league (she'd say were weren't, but self esteem wise she certainly was). She helped me so much through some really hard times in my life and my family's and pushed me to grow in a lot of ways. She lived across the country, one day I decided in a crazy impulse in the middle of the night I was going to leave my life and go move there for good and if nothing else we'd still be friends. (I was juuuuuust 18 at the time) My dad called the cops on me because it looked radically insane to him when he noticed (and it was). I left anyway. The cities police department seemed to all be present and I decided 'fuck them'. I tried.. in a crazy way that was certain to fail and not at all the best way.

We had a pact (and still talked years after all this) that when we were 30 if we weren't married we'd move to this spot in Ecuador we liked and make a life together. She's still an amazing artist and free spirit and incredible woman. She recently ran across the country, even came to my state- but I didn't go see her. I ended up marrying a pretty Latin woman here and having a son and I'm still too entranced or connected to the 'girl that "could" have been' to go. She's sang in a pretty big band, sold paintings for good money, lived in LA, San Francisco, Ecuador, etc etc.. She's living an amazing life and continuing to 'be her', but I sometimes wonder what I could have been if I would have captured more of her motivation and spirit through osmosis as I did the years before.