The Fateful Trip

Our Sophomore year, we had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with the orchestra. Bobbi was not going because her family had planned another trip (it was the week after school let out for summer). Glen was not going because his dad would not pay for it (which is why Glen is so awesome). I was sad for Glen because he hadn't been to Disneyland since he was little and I was and am under the impression that everyone needs to experience the joy that is DL. But he really didn't care either way. I wasn't going to stand for it. Every year, to help kids raise money for the trip, the orchestra holds a yard sale of sorts. I decided to sell anything I could find and give all the proceeds to "Glen Goes to Disneyland". I raised about half. His dad agreed to pay half as well. Glen was going!

We walked around the parks in our quirky little group (we had a lot of other quirky friends in orchestra). I have very few solid memories of this trip. I remember Kiri spilling warm coke down my front while we were waiting in line for Splash Mountain (on purpose, mind you). It was a coke that was just sitting there, that someone had left. I was furious. I wish we had bought the picture of us as we went down. I had this constipated look on my face and Kiri had a faux-"I'm Sorry" look about her. Everyone else was just fine. I also remember having a discussion with my friends about not wanting to marry someone with bad teeth. There was also the time when half of us went to the "bathroom" but really took pictures in the photo booth. We swore ourselves to secrecy so as not to upset the others. However, as soon as we saw them, I said, "Hey look at these awesome pictures we got!" I'm an idiot.

The clearest and best memory I have is also the saddest because Glen does not remember. On all the rides, we took turns sitting by different people. One of the times we rode Pirates of the Caribbean. Glen and I got stuck together in the back row. I don't remember really paying any attention to the ride. We just talked. I learned about his mom. I knew when we first met that she had passed away. It was something the other kids talked about. But I had never talked to him about it. My dad had passed about the same time as his mom. We sat in that boat and talked about how annoying it is when you tell someone about it and they say, "Oh, I'm so sorry!". It had happened years ago. We're okay now. We talked about what it was like to lose a parent. I realized in those moments that Glen was my friend. I got to know him personally and from then on I knew when he was around. No more ignoring little Glen.

Disneyland. This was our second trip together, six years later.