Through the years, I have had some moments where, well, things would happen and they would be rather embarrassing for me. My moment isn't as bad as Jennie L. 's red Kool Aid story. But I have had things happen to me regarding woman hood, and gross moments, that I will never write about, because it is so bad, I would die of embarrassment! You wouldn't want that would you? The reason why I am choosing to tell you about this story, because recently, it was brought up again by one of my good friends of the past, who is still upset about it.
When I was young, I attended three different high schools. I lived in Juneau for 3 years in row, starting with my eight grade year, where I met two of my friends, S.A.W. and S.J.M. We stuck together like glue, the three of us, having adventures, and experiencing the typical teen stuff together. We called our selves the Three Amigos. I doubt they remember that now, but anyways, I was forced to move to Utah in October of my junior year, and then moved to Wyoming for my senior year. So, I have always considered Juneau Douglas High School as my high school, where I made the most memories at.
After I moved and moved again, I always kept in touch with my friends, in fact S.J.M. became my maid of honor. I promised them for years that I would come back, and that I would see them again. I even planned to go back to Juneau after high school to attend school there at the University of Southeast Alaska, and thought we can be roommates at the dorms together. But it didn't happen. And I was sad, things changed. But I tried to keep informed about my old friends at JDHS, S.A.W. and S.J.M didn't even live there anymore.
So what did I do? Well Jason and I got our first computer back in 1998, and later on we discovered the Internet and got a scanner. When I got the scanner, I went through all of my pictures and picked the best ones to scan and shared them with my family and friends. Isn't that what other people do? Well, I also discovered a site called Classmates.com and it allowed me to put in all the high schools that I have attended. When that happened, I began receiving news information on the different high schools, in particular, reunion information. My class reunion was coming up, and a person contacted me from JDHS to talk to me about it.
Well at first, I was excited, that someone cared to contact me, even if it was a girl that I didn't really like back in the day. (I am feeling like I want to hyperventilate just thinking about this!)She was nice, she asked me how things were and what has happened to me since I left. Of course I told her all about me, and she asked my about my friends, S.A.W. and S.J.M., and I told her innocently about them, just shooting the breeze. As I was telling her about my fabulous married life, she asked me if I had any pictures to show her. So I did! I sent her just about every picture that I had scanned, putting them in little thumb nails on one page so see can see them all. I was thrilled to show them off! She told me they were great, and we chit chatted a little about them. THEN she told me, that she would like to use one, for a photo thing she was putting up for the reunion party. So I told her, just choose which one, it didn't really matter which, because I had sent so many! The pictures included, pictures of the past, with me and my friends. Pictures of my wedding, family, vacations, etc. Well, then she asked me if I could give her contact information about my friends, so she can talk to them about the reunion. She then told me that she was going to put the information in a book, a book that was going to be given everyone at the reunion party. I told her it was okay to put my info. in the book if she wants, though I didn't even graduate with you, wouldn't that be weird? She again graciously invited me to come anyways and told me there was going to be a reunion website posted soon. SO I said okay. And I waited.
The night after the reunion, I checked the website for any news. On the website, there was a montage of pictures of who attended, I was so excited and surprised how different or same some people looked! It made me gitty! (This is making me sick and dizzy to write!)Then, there was a posting of the film that displayed during the reunion for everyone to see. So I watched, the first picture that came up was one of mine, then another, and then another, and so on! (I have a headache now!) ALL OF MY PICTURES I had sent to Andrea was in the film!!!!And then there were just a few from other people...
( I am trying to breathe now!) What in the heck did everyone think? I just ruined their reunion! I didn't even graduate with them! After I watched it, I again checked out the pictures of the reunion, some people didn't look happy, looking up at something...Was it my imagination? Afterwards, my friend Heather who went, told me about it. Then she stopped writing me. Everyone who graduated from there got a book. I didn't and I had no idea what was written in it. I felt like dying! My excitement turned to anger and then feeling of being just plain stupid!
Soon afterwards, my friends, S.A.W. and S.J.M. called me. I was happy to hear from them, because we only spoke to each other a few times a year. If that. I wanted sympathy from them, because surely they would feel my pain, and I guessed right! They weren't embarrassed but angry at me! They didn't want to be in the book, and had talked to Andrea about it, but apparently, Andrea took it upon herself to take what I said about them, and put them in the book anyways! To this day, I still have no idea what was written! I know I didn't say anything bad about them, and I surely would have never said a word to Andrea or sent her any pictures if I would of known this was going to happen! My friendship was permanently damaged! And neither of us, has gotten over it. I have tried to laugh about it (what happened to me), thinking I may never see these people again, but it still haunts me to this day. It was the most embarrassing thing in my life....so far...This is a lesson I never wanted to learn the hard way! (I am truely sorry S.A.W. and S.J.M., expecially for using your names in my blog, which nobody hardly reads anyways, let alone, anyone who knows you...)
9 comments:
What a shame. Andrea took advantage of the situation. She should be ashamed of herself. It will come back to bite her if it hasn't already.
Well, at least I know to learn from this.... thanks. Some teenagers just never grow up. What a punk..... I'm sorry! :)
That stinks. Good friends are hard to come by, and that Andrea person was just mean to do what she did. It will come back and bite her. But that doesn't change what happened to you and your friends. Too bad they never asked you what happened. Maybe if they did, they would have been a little more forgiving.
BTW, thanks for commenting on my blog. I love getting comments! To answer one of your questions, Kevin isn't in the Bishopric yet, because he is STILL the Sunday School president. Yep that is the same calling he had when you guys lived here. Our ward doesn't like to release people. Kevin says it is Utah in general. I don't remember people in Cali having callings for as long as people do here. I am also STILL over activity days. It has been over 3 years now, maybe more...I can't remember that well. I forgot to mention on my blog, that Erick is my brother's first name, so I guess that is a family name as well. It doesn't have the history that Elvin does though.
Interesting. Not only the story, but the reactions, and also the comments above. I have always been totally stumped why some people, in this case SAW and SJM, among thousands of others, think it's their god-given right to be a virtual recluse. I don't mind being totally rude, downright mean, to those weird-thinking virtual hermits who think I don't have a right to take their picture, show their picture, talk about them, write about them, or anything else. If I take a picture, it's my picture, and I can do anything I want with it, as long as I don't step afoul of the Uniform Commercial Code which requires me to get consent to use their likeness for commercial purposes to make money. As long as I'm not making money commercially (as a business enterprise), they don't have any right (legal, moral, ethical, or any other right) to tell me not to publish their picture to my heart's content, to write about them, say anything about them (as long as it's not libelous or slanderous or untrue). I have no idea where the silly idea comes from that you can decide to restrict what other people do and don't do with their stuff, their records, their memeories, their experiences, etc. It beats the heck out of me where this ridiculous idea came from, because it sure is diametrically opposed to the entire history of the human race in terms of social, civic, and organizational interactions. Can you see it now: Holy Cow, Matthew, Mark, and Luke... you have no right to write about him without his permission! Stop it, Rembrandt, you need a signed release before you paint those people! Cut it out, Lord Tennyson, you shouldn't be writing about those six hundred who made up the light brigade! Knock it off, Sandburg, Lincoln didn't approve what you wrote about him! Quit it, NASA, Neil Armstrong is going to get mad at you for distributing his picture stepping off the lunar lander! I took a lot of pictures of my friends when I was young, and I slap my gauntlet in their faces and defy them to even hint that I can't use their pictures for anything I want. If someone doesn't want their picture taken, then they have no business socializing in a society. If they don't want people knowing what they look like, they should never be seen in public. If they don't want me saying anything about them, they should never let me know they exist. Sheesh. This is what living in a society is about: interacting with other people without dictating to others what they can and can't do with their stuff. This kind of foolishness is what's responsible for the ludicrous myth that persists in spite of its complete and utter fallacy that something called "privacy" exists. It doesn't. It never has, once you step outside your bedroom. If today's "privacy" advocates had been around a hundred years ago, there would be no vital statistics, no records, no history, no genealogy, no archives, no... the list goes on and on. Don't feel bad about losing friends who are so out of touch with today's reality that the get mad at you or even Andrea. They are the ones who are way the heck over the edge and off the map. I can't blame them, as the press and media sensationalists promulgate this nonsense (even though the media would be totally gone if the idea were to really catch on). But it just irritates me no end to see otherwise-intelligent people falling for this silly idea.
How's that for a rant? I can smell the smoke even from over here... ;-)
Wow, Bro. Fordam, you are totally right! It is so obiviously true too! I just hadn't thought of it that way! That is one of the reasons why you are such a good teacher...Just that some people, will not see it that way, I don't know why. I have never been bothered about my name being used, unless it was something embarressing, but I accept that it is other people's right to use it. Thank you for your comments, they are always welcomed.
HA HA HA Okay so I wasn't even going to respond to this because I had been talking to your favorite blogger in private about this situation which happened quite awhile ago but that she can't let go of... I am SJM in the story... but I feel compelled to write and correct the store since I am a blunt and honest person myself. Not only that but if the story is about me it is only fair that you hear the truth...
If you want a sensationalist you found it in your blogger. Unfortunately most of what was written was over dramatized. Not only that -- I, for one, certainly didn't cut your blogging friend out of my life. I simply grew and moved on from high school...
SAW and I did speak with her first and she told us that she had written the narratives about us because she did not think that we would write our own. The information contained in the narrative (in the reunion book) was incorrect and I let her know that. I was having to correct the information with other friends from high school. I don't like someone else to speak for me as I am certainly capable of doing so. I didn't care about the pictures I thought that portion was fine... it was the writing about me like the National Enquirer would that upset me. Noone can speak for me but me.
That being said... again this entire situation is completely over dramatized. This is actually classic of your blogger because she has always loved to write non-fiction stories, particularly including her friends. I find it funny that someone with as much "life experience" as you "old man with a radio transmitter...." would so quickly grab ahold of the story and run with it. Very interesting...
Again --- let the past lie Ms. Jen...
Steph, I wrote this story because it is true! And all of my stories in this blog are, unless I say otherwise. I do enjoy writing non-fiction as well, but that isn't the purpose of this blog. I could just erase your comments, but you have a right to your opinion. I am over it! And writing about it, helped me do so. My blog stories are filled with memories of the past, in which, I try to write to the best of my recogntion. I also have friends who like to read my blog, for entertainment. They don't judge me, or put me down, even if I do something or say something foolish.
I don't usually leave comments in fact i have never commented on anyone's blog but I got to back Jennie on this one. I was with Jennie when all of this drama started. what Jennie has stated is what really went down. I personally feel that the host that put together the reunion came up short with the material that was gathered, then struggled to make their material stretch.
Jen and Jason -SJM here again- Okay... enough said. I sincerely hope that you both have a wonderful life. I am sorry if I ever offended you on here or anywhere else.
Good luck in the future.
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