Me and Libe
|7.Mar.2007This morning I slid-in Michelle Shocked’s Anchorage to cover the sound of quarreling she-hyenas in the back of the Suburban. It worked. Not only did it work, but as music often does, it transported me to another time … a time when I only had to transport myself to class … a time BEFORE quarreling she-hyenas filled my days … a time where I had NO IDEA what “juggling a schedule” really meant – I remember thinking it was so hard to go to school full-time AND hold down a job. Brat.
As always, I digress.
There is one particular song (linked above) that I love. It reminds me of my close friend and roommate in college, Libe Goad. I have no idea how I later applied this song to mine and Libe’s relationship, but I did. She was the “fly by the seat of her pants” gal who set off for New York right after graduation. I was the “must make a plan and follow it” girl who married immediately after college, followed my husband through 13 or so moves and had 3 kids. She’s the “skateboard punk rocker” who kept on rockin’ and I’m the “housewife” who kept on getting knocked-up. We’re both happy – living true to ourselves – maybe that is what I get from the song.
I met Libe in the Spring of ’92 – in a Geology class at Texas A&M. We were just different enough to make perfect friends and began to spend our week nights breaking in the town’s first coffee house or laying across her El Camino smoking cigars and tossing deep thoughts to the stars. Our boyfriends shared a house down the block from our apartment; life was good – except for when it wasn’t. Time ran. I graduated, married (she was a bridesmaid) and moved away. She stayed and finished up another year and 1/2 of college.
Three years later, a short 6 months after my first child was born, I flew to stay with Libe in her closet apartment in NYC. I would have been content to sit somewhere and talk for hours, but she made a point to show me the side of Manhattan I wouldn’t get from travel brochures and guided tours. I experienced taxi drivers, walked off about 8 lbs in 1 week, ate the most amazing Italian food I’ve ever had to date, visited a couple of pubs to listen to bands I don’t remember, saw an off-beat play with so much profanity I can’t remember if there were any OTHER words, ate chocolate that looked like pieces of art, drank enough coffee to make a sailor proud, thrifted, and laughed … oh how we laughed.
That was the last time I saw Libe.
I kept up with her – even shot off a card or email from time to time, but our correspondence dwindled and we just lost touch. Until recently. Recently we re-connected and I’m so excited to see she’s made a name for herself in the world of girl gamers.
Today I thought of her.
Y’know, when I heard that song.
11 Comments
Friglet
That’s great that you’ve gotten back in touch with her. She looks like someone that you have a lot of fun with!
jen
I enjoyed that post (and the song!) but I’m still trying to do that with my lips and the dog is looking at me all “what’s up with HER?”
OMSH
jen – mandajuice says my face is made of rubber. It takes talent. Lots and lots of talent. *ahem*
Laura/PinkFontGirl
FUDGESICLES!!!
it must have been the emoticon heart throwing everything off…fine. whatever. imagine the following lines, preceeded by an emoticon heart (ya know, the arrow thingie followed by a 3)…
i loved this entry. the pictures and the song were perfect with it. not that i listened to a lot of the lyrics, but the singing and the melody were comfy alongside the text :)
(or, i said something like that. it sounded more eloquent the first time around. heh.)
Jen
Ugh. Again…Im just catching up! I had a Best Girl Friend ever in college and I hearted her Big Time. Then we graduated and Lost Touch. I still miss her.
This post made my heart ache.
jen
how many of us here are Jen? lOl. Sorry about the oompa loompas… that’s my standard response when someone gets some tom petty stuck in my head! Actually the song “I still believe” (I think, brenda k. star?) has been stuck in my head for … how old is that song now? 15 years? Yeah. I never even particularly LOVED it, it was just a song on the radio that I didn’t mind… but my mind is still singing it.
OMSH
There is Jen and then there is jen.
If you want to know why I go by OMSH everywhere it is because there are 1 trillion Heathers in blogosphere!
Jen
Im thinking of changing to Pinky Tuscadaro!
OMSH
Now I’m going to be singing Happy Days.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?
Libe
Geez, H. — whattya trying to do — make me cry? There’s no crying in the Big Apple (much like baseball).
That wicker lady still lives in my bedroom — she can still throw down espressos like nobody’s business — and I think I saw her taking a nip off the good Scotch the other night.
OK, so now I have to go find this song on iTunes. And I’m glad we reconnected, too :)
OMSH
Libe – Hide the Scotch … she sent word via a mannequin at Macy’s that she’s been sneakin’ nips forever. I promised to feature her in the blog for the information. How do you think I found you again?
“Don’t cry … dry … your eye.”