Announce you and your best friend's story

It was 1960 or 61 or maybe even 62... Out in the schoolyard me and Julio stood at the west fence while in the far yard the girls did their ropejumping games. At an earlier time the students had been forced to run around a maypole while streaming colorful ribbons onto it. Having had enough I got dizzy (not necessarily in the way that Tommy Roe did) and sat on the ledge over by the north side fence. On the other side was the field where little league games were practiced and played. It was a warm day, maybe even hot.

So the following year, as I said, Julio and me was hanging by the fence. While we did that and occasionally talked, a group of about 30 was playing Rattlesnake. Kind of strange game where they intertwined arms to form a giant (you guessed it) rattlesnake. The start kid held to the north side fence in the smaller yard and they all kept chanting away 'r-a-t-t-l-e-s-n-a-k-e spells rattlesnake'. They must not've been too interestred in sharing new ideas. Julio and me, well we weren't so weird.

After that we went to our separate classes, going up the flight of stairs from the yard to the cement walkway which led to the school. We followed the same routine every day during lunch hour, right up until June when the school year ended and we went in different directions.

The following year I was in a different school and Julio was wherever he was. Never saw him again, but for that brief time we were the best of friends. These days I remember him whenever the actor Vincent D'onofrio is on television Or in a movie as he reminds me of Julio. Same hair. They weren't the same age but then again who is?


Later on Paul Simon sang about a guy named Julio down by the schoolyard but since Paul Simon is substantially older, it was probably a different Julio...

It was 2012. We were in high school. She was a Jewish girl taking Arabic with a bunch of Arab and/or Muslim kids, including me, a Lebanese girl. She was taking the class to learn Arabic. I was taking the class for the easy A. One day, the class started talking about Israel. Obviously us Arab kids were none too fond of Israel, but she told us Israel was not bad! She was offended. I was offended. We got in a fight. I said she supported European colonialism. She said I was anti-Semitic. We got emotional... together. I think I cried. Tears were definitely shed. Then, we bonded over our dark, curly and unruly hair. Fast forward to 2016, we are best friends. She still supports Israel. I still think Israel sucks.

It all started on June 3, 1959. I had just awakened from a nap in the nursery and was going to start crying so that one of those women in the white outfits would come over and stick this plastic fake nipple in my mouth which when sucked upon filled my mouth with this wonderful liquid that made my tummy feel full, when I happened to glance to my right. And there, in what I can only describe as the clear container next to me, was this other moving and crying thing. At that moment, she stopped crying and glanced my way. Her blue eyes, her mostly bald head with just a tiny bit of blond hair and her smile won me over.

I tried to ask her name, but I just couldn't seem to make her understand. But we both knew we had a connection. We goo-gooed and we gaa-gaaed at each other and promised we would always remain the best of friends. Then the white dressed women came and put the fake nipple things in our mouths, causing me to fall asleep and I assumed she too fell asleep. When I awoke, I found myself staring into the face of someone I later came to know as Mommy. I never again saw my best friend and have often wondered what happened to her. My Mommy did her best to try to replace my friend by bringing home 3 other little people over the next 10 years, but not one has ever been able to take the place of my best friend.

My only hope is that one day she may read this and get in touch with me so that we can resume our close friendship and so I can answer the question I have wondered about ever since that first meeting. Is she really a natural blond?