Firsts

I stole this from Jason's blog...

FIRSTS

First best friend:
Her name was Lora too, spelled just like me. I remember the first day I met her, in the first grade. I was the new kid in school, it was my first day, and my teacher, Mrs. Williams, introduced me to the class. Lora raised her hand, offering a seat next to her. We spent the next 4 years together, inseparable. Her father received new orders to San Antonio, Texas, and she moved away in the fifth grade. We kept in touch sporadically through high school, and then lost touch until I was 28 years old. I hadn’t seen her in about 20 years, and she came to my wedding. It was the BEST wedding present I could have ever dreamed of. I’ve lost touch in the last couple of years, I wonder if she moved, or something has happened… I can only hope she knows how special she is to me, to this day.

First Car:
Ohhhh man, did I have a great first car. A 1970 Mustang fastback. It had a brand new engine, needed only a paint job and the seats redone… a young air force guy under my father got transferred to Germany and wanted to unload it, so my Dad bought it for me for $500. It was, beautiful. I managed to have it for 3 months before I totaled it (not even for speeding, mind you!). I was 16 and wasn’t ready to drive, but my parents were so willing to give me the opportunity and my very own car. To this day, I know my father is kicking himself for giving that car to me. He should have taken it and given me the old Chevy pickup I’d learn to drive with. There was a guardian angel with me in that car; the fact it was a Sherman tank saved my life, as well as the lives of three of my friends.

First kiss:
My first boyfriend, Jesse. I was 14 and he was 16 and had a car; my parents hated everything about him for that very reason. It only made him as well as that first kiss all the more enticing. I was forbidden to spend time with him, but managed to date him for over a year.

First big trip:
I was a military brat so we traveled all the time to see family… the first one I remember well was a trip to see my maternal grandparents in Texas when I was about 5. We lived in Hawaii and my mother is (and always was) terrified of flying. Living on an island puts a dent in road trips, so we flew. That was an interesting flight. My mother white-knuckling the seat while I entertained myself with anyone I could get eye contact with. It didn’t help that the flight lost cabin electrical power at some point during the flight. Of course it was temporary and there was no real danger, but I remember my mother praying like mad.

First flight:
See first big trip. I’d been on planes most of my infant/toddler years, but don’t obviously I don’t remember much!

First time skiing/snowboarding:
I have NEVER been on skiis, let alone a snowboard. A well-known fact about Lora: I am clumsy. If there’s an accident to happen, it will be me, breaking limbs. Besides, the freezing cold does NOT appeal to me. If I were to take a ski trip, you’d find me in the resort, by the fire, sipping hot chocolate. Nowhere near a ski slope!

First Alcoholic Drink:
Budweiser, age 14. Again with the first boyfriend, Jesse. What a bad influence he was, eh? My girlfriend Jen was spending the night, and my parents went out – so Jesse and two of his friends came over with a case of beer. We played quarters, and it was ugly. Jen and I were sooooooo drunk, and I hear the front door! We lived in a house that had an alley in an older area of Las Vegas; so out the back door and down the alley the boys went, while Jen and I sat there rather drunk and stupid. My mom was so angry until Jen spent half the night yakking and my head hurt so much I could hardly move the next day; she figured we’d learned our lesson. (Little did she know)

First ticket violation:
See first car. Two days after I got my driver’s license I rear-ended a nurse. I was trying to turn the heater on and she stopped to let someone in front of her… She had a Chrysler K car and I had a 1970 Mustang. At 10 mph my car almost completely took out her trunk. She was so nice, and realized how traumatized I was… I am grateful to her for being so kind. My parents should have taken my license from me that day!

First job:
Yes, I worked the front register at Wendy’s. I had the job for six months. It wasn’t so bad, I worked there with one of my best friends, and the night manager always bought us beer.

First date:
See first boyfriend, Jesse. Again. The first REAL date we had was his prom at Western High School. Homecoming. My mother let me go with him, and to this day I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was because it was an organized school event? Ha. I never really thought about that until just now.

There's actually much more to this, but I was long winded so I'll save the rest for another time. Thanks Jas!