I can't remember if I wrote about this guy or not, but he was on my mind in a round-a-bout way, so here goes.
Josh was my first "real" boyfriend. I'm not 100% sure how we got introduced, but I know that he and David (aka Dickey) were tight in high school, and I spent some time around them. I really liked Josh. He lived up the road from me a ways, (southern grammar!), and had a younger sister and a pit bull named Princess. For my birthday, Josh, Nicole, and her BF hosted a party for me. I remember Princess eating a piece of steel wool. This dog would eat anything. I later gave her the leftover mayo from the artichokes we had, and Josh freaked out. Yeah, like mayo was going to hurt her! Sadly Princess later died when she was napping by the pool and rolled over, into the pool, and drowned. End of story.
Not really. I got side tracked. It's been a day like that. Josh would pick me up, then we'd get Nicole, and she and I would ride in the back of his truck to her B/F's house, and then we would go to the river in Bat Cave, or on down to Lake Lure. Nicole and I lived on Slim Jim's and Black Cherry Mystic Juice. It was such an awesome summer. I remember the sun being so bright, and the sky so blue, wind in our hair, and knowing that life didn't get better than this. Nicole later told Josh some untrue things, and caused us to break up. I was heartbroken. I just knew that no one would ever be as good/kind/wonderful. Ah, young love.
Fast forward: I've gone to college in Idaho, met a wonderful RM, fell in love, and got my heart broken. I had believed in the myth that everyone gets married at Ricks (Hello, it's not called an MRS degree for nothing!), and now I was going home with horrible grades and no love. I don't remember if Josh called me, or I called him, but by the time I came home, we had decided to give it another go. By this time, he was in Paramedic school, and living with David. They talked me into going to AB Tech, and spending my spare time with them. I was going to school, waiting tables, and playing with them in the evenings. They introduced me to the Dr Who song, as well as They Might Be Giants, I re-introduced David to the wonder of beef, and life was good. I went with David to get his tattoo, Josh took care of me the night I got sick from my MMR booster shot and thought I was dying. I loved life. By this time, Josh and David were rather . . . odd, but for some reason, Mom was totally ok with me spending time with them. She saw past the leather, the tattoos, the odd behaviors to see that deep down, they were good guys. Josh practiced his IV's on me . . . not one of my mother's happier "what has my daughter done" moments! By this time I moved on to SVU, and life in Virginia started to bloom. Josh eventually moved on, and I hadn't been in touch with him.
I got the call my senior year (more on this at another time) to come home. I did, I cried, and I helped plan a funeral for my brother. Even though I had moved on, any time Brad needed a "fix me up" (He had a bad habit of picking fights he couldn't win), he would call Josh. And, what I didn't realize, was that Josh was still taking care of him. I got in touch with his mother, and asked her to just let Josh know that Brad had died. Imagine my shock, surprise, and gratitude when Josh came to the service. As I was crying and hugging him, I said, "I can't believe you came." He held me tighter and said, "Baby Doll, where else would I be?" The next night, before I came back to school he came and took me for a drive. I don't remember what we said, or where we went, but I do remember his making me feel like it would be ok. And you know what? It was. And I am. And if you ever run into a Paramedic named Josh with curly dark hair and dark eyes, and the greatest smile in the world, give him a hug for me, ok? And tell him I still have his blue shirt - although it's falling apart, it's one of my favorite "comfy" ones to wear. He can't have it back.
Josh was my first "real" boyfriend. I'm not 100% sure how we got introduced, but I know that he and David (aka Dickey) were tight in high school, and I spent some time around them. I really liked Josh. He lived up the road from me a ways, (southern grammar!), and had a younger sister and a pit bull named Princess. For my birthday, Josh, Nicole, and her BF hosted a party for me. I remember Princess eating a piece of steel wool. This dog would eat anything. I later gave her the leftover mayo from the artichokes we had, and Josh freaked out. Yeah, like mayo was going to hurt her! Sadly Princess later died when she was napping by the pool and rolled over, into the pool, and drowned. End of story.
Not really. I got side tracked. It's been a day like that. Josh would pick me up, then we'd get Nicole, and she and I would ride in the back of his truck to her B/F's house, and then we would go to the river in Bat Cave, or on down to Lake Lure. Nicole and I lived on Slim Jim's and Black Cherry Mystic Juice. It was such an awesome summer. I remember the sun being so bright, and the sky so blue, wind in our hair, and knowing that life didn't get better than this. Nicole later told Josh some untrue things, and caused us to break up. I was heartbroken. I just knew that no one would ever be as good/kind/wonderful. Ah, young love.
Fast forward: I've gone to college in Idaho, met a wonderful RM, fell in love, and got my heart broken. I had believed in the myth that everyone gets married at Ricks (Hello, it's not called an MRS degree for nothing!), and now I was going home with horrible grades and no love. I don't remember if Josh called me, or I called him, but by the time I came home, we had decided to give it another go. By this time, he was in Paramedic school, and living with David. They talked me into going to AB Tech, and spending my spare time with them. I was going to school, waiting tables, and playing with them in the evenings. They introduced me to the Dr Who song, as well as They Might Be Giants, I re-introduced David to the wonder of beef, and life was good. I went with David to get his tattoo, Josh took care of me the night I got sick from my MMR booster shot and thought I was dying. I loved life. By this time, Josh and David were rather . . . odd, but for some reason, Mom was totally ok with me spending time with them. She saw past the leather, the tattoos, the odd behaviors to see that deep down, they were good guys. Josh practiced his IV's on me . . . not one of my mother's happier "what has my daughter done" moments! By this time I moved on to SVU, and life in Virginia started to bloom. Josh eventually moved on, and I hadn't been in touch with him.
I got the call my senior year (more on this at another time) to come home. I did, I cried, and I helped plan a funeral for my brother. Even though I had moved on, any time Brad needed a "fix me up" (He had a bad habit of picking fights he couldn't win), he would call Josh. And, what I didn't realize, was that Josh was still taking care of him. I got in touch with his mother, and asked her to just let Josh know that Brad had died. Imagine my shock, surprise, and gratitude when Josh came to the service. As I was crying and hugging him, I said, "I can't believe you came." He held me tighter and said, "Baby Doll, where else would I be?" The next night, before I came back to school he came and took me for a drive. I don't remember what we said, or where we went, but I do remember his making me feel like it would be ok. And you know what? It was. And I am. And if you ever run into a Paramedic named Josh with curly dark hair and dark eyes, and the greatest smile in the world, give him a hug for me, ok? And tell him I still have his blue shirt - although it's falling apart, it's one of my favorite "comfy" ones to wear. He can't have it back.
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