One morning in July 2009, as I sat at my computer enjoying a cup of black coffee in Zushi, Japan, I began to think about my high school days in Arlington, Virginia.<\/p>\n
I wonder what happened to Julie Case.<\/p>\n
We had gone steady the whole year, when I was a junior and she was a freshman.\u00a0 With hair the color of honey, blue-green eyes, and a smile that invited, she was the epitome of vivaciousness and good health, and a cheerleader.\u00a0 Although I wasn\u2019t good at sports and didn\u2019t take much interest in them back then, I attended all of Julie\u2019s football and basketball games and track meets, just to watch her perform.<\/p>\n
When she didn\u2019t have cheerleading practice, we studied together at her parents\u2019 apartment or mine.\u00a0 Every Saturday night without fail, we went to the movies at the local theater in Fairlington Shopping Center, a few blocks away.\u00a0 Then almost every Sunday we caught the bus for Washington, D.C.\u00a0 One day we explored the National Gallery of Art and saw the Mona Lisa when it was on loan from the Louvre.\u00a0 On another outing we visited the Smithsonian Institute to marvel at the reconstructed skeletons of dinosaurs, not realizing what gargantuan beasts they had been.\u00a0 In the spring we rented paddleboats on the Tidal Basin and picnicked under the cherry blossoms.<\/p>\n
The middle of April Julie broke her foot during cheerleading practice.\u00a0 For six weeks she hobbled to class on crutches with me carrying her books.\u00a0 In May, with my Junior Prom approaching, I asked her what she wanted to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I expect you to take me,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cMy mother has already sewn my gown.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a black-and-white photo I still have, Julie\u2019s strapless gown looks white, but is actually a subtle shade of pink.\u00a0 On her right foot is a pink high heel; on her left, a bulky plaster cast tied with a matching pink ribbon.\u00a0 That night at the Prom we danced all the slow numbers as we clutched onto each other.<\/p>\n
Soulmates is an apt description of our relationship, and both of us knew we\u2019d get married someday.\u00a0 But that dream came crashing down after school let out in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father has been reassigned to Headquarters US Army Alaska,\u201d Julie told me.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re moving to Anchorage August first.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was devastated.\u00a0 \u201cAnchorage is 5,000 miles away!\u201d<\/p>\n
We parted with many hugs and kisses, and promises we would be reunited once again.\u00a0 During my senior year we wrote to each other\u2014at first two or three times a week, then less frequently\u2014until finally our letters of undying love stopped.\u00a0 I graduated and went to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and never heard from her again.<\/p>\n
Over the years I\u2019ve thought of Julie often, as people do about their first love.\u00a0 Periodically I checked Classmates.com for her name at Anchorage High School, but never found it.<\/p>\n
Now that my 50th<\/sup> high school reunion was coming up in October, I had another idea.\u00a0 If I do a Google search for Anchorage\u2019s reunion, I might be able to locate her.\u00a0 Although their reunion won\u2019t take place until 2011, they might\u2019ve already set up a website.<\/p>\n I input the words, Anchorage High School 1961 Class Reunion, in the Google search box and hit Return.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a link!<\/p>\n I clicked on it and a well-designed orange & black-colored website appeared onscreen.\u00a0 I clicked the menu item for \u201cOur Classmates.\u201d\u00a0 First, a list of \u201cFound Classmates\u201d came up.\u00a0 I looked for the name, Julie Case, but couldn\u2019t find it.\u00a0 Then I checked the list of \u201cMissing Classmates\u201d and her name wasn\u2019t there either.<\/p>\n It\u2019s strange.\u00a0 Maybe she didn\u2019t graduate in 1961.\u00a0 Or maybe she moved away from Anchorage before graduating.\u00a0 In that case, I\u2019d never locate her.<\/p>\n Then I noticed the \u201cIn Memoriam\u201d box.\u00a0 Reluctantly, I clicked it and checked the list of names.\u00a0 When I saw Julie\u2019s name, I froze.<\/p>\n That\u2019s impossible\u2014she was two years younger than I!<\/p>\n I sat there in a daze, staring at her name on the computer screen.\u00a0 I felt the tears welling up inside me.<\/p>\n I\u2019m too late.\u00a0 Now I can\u2019t tell her I never stopped loving her.<\/p>\n That evening, after the initial shock of her death had abated somewhat, I realized that except for the year we were together, Julie\u2019s life was lost to me.\u00a0 I\u2019d never be able to hear, firsthand, her triumphs and sorrows.\u00a0 Then I thought about my own life.<\/p>\n When I die, all my experiences will be lost too, unless I do something about it.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when I decided to start writing my memoirs.<\/p>\n – Andy Barker<\/p>\n Note: Once again I\u2019d like to thank Ron Thorne and Ken Odsather for getting in touch with me after I asked assistance in supplying information about Julie Case.\u00a0 Also, I want to thank Douglas Dunham and Joel Wight for their help in piecing together the life of my first love.\u00a0 Frank Morton, recently deceased, was also instrumental in supplying the e-mail address of Julie\u2019s only child, Kristine, who I continue to be in contact with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One morning in July 2009, as I sat at my computer enjoying a cup of black coffee in Zushi, Japan, I began to think about my high school days in Arlington, Virginia. I wonder what happened to Julie Case. We had gone steady the whole year, when I was a junior and she was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-memories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136\/revisions\/140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahs61.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}