I have been reflecting a lot these days on times long past, and one special girl from my high school days comes instantaneously to my mind. I have not been able to find her via Classmates or other such inane websites, so I figgered why not try CL and see what the fates have in store for my query?

She was my first true love, even though we never dated. We both attended AP Chemistry in our senior year, and we used to poke major fun at the teacher (Mr. Howell, I love and respect you, and am very saddened that you passed on, but by god sir, how you needed to get rid of your not even passable toupee! That terrible creation looked like a raw beaver pelt plopped directly on top of your head! One of the lab projects should have been to Bunsen burner to death that fucking toupee!) while still maintaining our professional student bearing. I had a major case of roseacea (sic) in high school, and she did not make fun of this hugely embarassing condition of mine like others did. In fact she thought it cute that I got even redder in the face when I was around her (duh!). She really liked a certain multi-colored sweater that I had, and I made a point to wear it whenever we had AP Chemistry together. In her admiring of said sweater, she used to touch it (and me in the process, mind you) and I would get very excited when she did this. Such excitement being manifested in such ways as having my stomach do gymnastic flips, profuse yet largely unseen sweating, wobbly legs, and a dry throat that tends to 'crack' one's young developing male voice.

Without question there was chemistry between us, apart from the AP course of the same name we were currently sharing at the time.

However, romantic things between her and I were apparently not to be, as I asked her to be my prom date and she did not accept. But when she told me of her non-acceptance I did not get the impression that it was 'her' turning me down, but a larger entity entirely. It seemed to me that she was having troubles at home, and that these troubles were serious. I sensed this because I am a pretty good judge of character and I seem to have a keen sense of larger things when I speak with people.

Yet when I tried to compel her to expound on her rejection, she abruptly dropped the subject.

So I ended up doing one of those convenient prom 'exchanges' (you take me to your prom, I'll take you to mine type deal) with a girl I worked at Tops with from Immaculata Academy. The whole time we were together I kept thinking of who I wanted to be with me at that point, and it certainly was not the girl from Immaculata.

Our relationship largely remained the same until we graduated from high school and I never laid eyes on her again as I had no idea where she went afterwards. But I never forgot her, and I never will. I know I have been out of high school for 17 years, but some things just never fade from one's memory, and my memory of her will transcend time immemorial.

Her name at the time was Mary Radich. We went to Iroquois High School in Elma, NY and we graduated in 1988. She was probably 5 feet 10 inches tall, with green eyes and beautiful dark brown hair. And she was my first true love.

I doubt anything will come of this post regarding my actual making contact again with her, but that is not the point. I do not pine for her, I would like to know how she is doing as she simply dropped off the radar screens after graduation. She is the sole positive thing I can point out during my whole nightmarish fucking existence known as High School in the late 1980's.

This post is to thank her for being the wonderful person that she was to me then, and also to allow me to get a whole lot off my chest.

Wherever Mary Radich from Iroquois High School is these days, I wish her well and that I hope she knows that she made a profound impact on me as a person and my life.

She was and is a wonderful person. And she was my first true love.

In Peace,

Geoff