2002

The year 2002 has some very bad connotations for me. That was the year Dylan McCort died. I randomly ran into Shannon, his girlfriend at the time, in LA over the weekend and it brought back a lot of memories. My best friend from 1st through 6th grade, he was the first person I ever knew that died and his funeral was the first one that I ever attended.

The funny thing is, the memories that are the fondest now were the ones at the time that I would have liked to forget. All the good times blend together into one happy almagamation, but the arguments and the tussles are what really stand out. I remember calling him when I accidentally deleted my whole hard drive, since I knew he would get his Dad to fix it before my parents got home. I vividly recall the four hour argument in Ben Skeer's front yard about him taking a video game from my house after a sleepover. And I remember the numerous tiffs when he and Ben became better friends than me and started a band, King Cory, without me.

In hindsight, I realize that I wouldn't have gotten so worked up if I didn't care. One would think this would lead me to think, "life's too short to argue." But, I wouldn't replace any of those arguments with us jamming, hanging out in a parking lot drinking Mr. Mistys or playing capture the flag. Those fights were some of the times when I learned the most about what being a friend is all about and grew up a bit in the process. Instead, I guess I came away with the lesson that life's too short not to care.

Sorry, for the somber blog entry. But, the sun is shining behind every cloud. For some reason, Laurel Smith (now Zmolek)'s middle school webpage has survived intact. You can have fun 90's nostalgia and read a silly story there about Dylan, Ben and Gumby. This is the same Dylan who used to stuff Tahitian Treat from my fridge into every available pocket and put impossible-to-remove objects in my penny jar with that same knowing wink in his eye.