Everybody has a time that they consider to be the “Best Days of Their Livesâ€. For some it was High School, College, Marriage, whatever. For me it was Junior High in the early eighties. 7th & 8th grade to be exact. When we were still too young to let peer pressure & the dire need to fit in take over & divide even the closest of our circle of friends. I can’t remember what happened yesterday but I can remember those days as vividly as if it were yesterday. Every face, every name, every story are as clear in my mind as they were when they happened 30 years ago.
Growing up, I had the privilege of being in a very tight circle of friends. The kind of friends that were always welcome in each other’s houses, called each other’s Moms “Momâ€, one Mom can punish the whole lot if needed, you know, like a small family of kids. We were all lucky to live in basically a three or four house radius around each other. My best friend John lived across the street from the Farmers Field. Jody lived across the street from John, next to the Farmers Field. I lived across from John & next door to Jody but on the other side of Farmers Field. Sean lived next door to John. And the only girl in our circle, Susan, was Sean’s twin sister. Susan wasn’t exactly the only girl in our circle - John had two sisters, I had one & sometimes they would join the fray. But Susan was the only one who was a consistent member of the circle. She wasn’t a tomboy by any means, she was quite girlie with her long hair, love for ponies & strawberry shortcake stickers on everything she owned. She also had a knack for being a drama queen, literally. Just the past school year she had played Daisy Mae in her 5th grade school play, “Lil Abnerâ€, which everybody in all of our families went to the school to see, twice. (Actually us kids had the “pleasure†of seeing it 3 times as they assembled the classes into the auditorium to watch the dress rehearsal.) Plus, she was our age (actually Sean & Susan were a year younger than Jody, John & I) and the only girl who would hang out & play when the other girls weren’t around.
And she’d whip your butt in kick ball...
It was back in the Summer of ‘81. The summer before I began Junior High School & the 7th grade. I had just turned 12 the end of May, Sean & Susan had turned 11 back in January. School had already let out & we were probably about a week into Summer Vacation. We were playing a game of “Mob Gangsâ€, one of our many pretend games we would get heavily into & spend almost an entire day playing. Well, this time around, I was the bad guy, “Big Joeâ€, who was the leader of this gang & I was searching for this audio tape of me “making a dealâ€. In my gang, I had my friend Sean, while over at the rival gang was leader John (Johnnie the Gun) & his “manâ€, Jody. My “hideout†was the fort in John’s backyard while John & his gang were across the street in the garage behind Jody’s house. The fort I was in was nothing more really than an empty shed that we took over & turned into a fort. It was maybe 10 feet by 10 feet inside with a wooden door at the front & two plywood windows on the sides that John’s father set up that you could open by pulling a rope & sliding them upwards on a pulley. Inside we had KISS & Motocross posters on the walls, an old wooden school desk chair, a ripped up old leather recliner & a small table made out of metal milk crates. We even had lights inside - a strand of those old style “big bulb†clear Christmas lights hung from the open rafters. We had my G.I. Joe 4 way 2 channel walkie talkie set with us so we were in constant contact with each other.
As the game progressed thru the morning & into the afternoon, the “tape†exchanged hands a few times but ended up somehow back with John’s gang & we were trying to figure out how to get it back when we get a call from “Johnnie the Gun†on the walkie talkie. He says he wants to make a deal with us, the tape for a million dollars. He says to meet him at his hideout. We decided to take the deal & began to head over across the street, when Susan rode up into the driveway on her bike. “Hey guys! What-cha doin?†“We have to get to Johnnie the Gun’s hideoutâ€, Sean answered, not coming out of pretend. Susan tried to jump right into the game. “Are you going to stick him up?â€, she asked. “Can I help?â€. “Noâ€, I replied. “We have to give his gang a million dollars for a tapeâ€. Suddenly, I had an idea. “Hey!â€, I said. “Pretend Susan is Johnnie the Gun’s girl! Let’s hold her hostage & the ransom is the tape!â€. Before Susan can chime in, Sean yelled “GET HER!â€. We both rushed Susan & grabbed her. I grabbed her around the waist while Sean grabbed her feet. Susan tried to scream out for help but I quickly put my hand over her mouth & we both picked her up & began carrying her into the backyard towards the fort. All the while, she squirmed & kicked, giggling all the way to the fort. In fact all three of us were laughing so hard, I remember us dropping her a few times on our way thru the back yard.
We got Susan inside the fort & I held her while Sean closed & locked the door. I took my hand away from her mouth & she was out of breath, still giggling, trying squirm away from me. “Let me go!â€, she whined, tugging against me. “You guys are soooo dead when Johnnie gets you!â€. She was playing along. “I don’t think soâ€, I said, letting her go & reaching for my (toy) gun in my belt. Pointing it at her, I declared, “Now you’re our hostage & Johnnie has to give us the tape now for your ransom!†Sean made his way over to one of the windows & pulled the length of rope out of the pulley, untying the knot at the other end. He threw the rope over to me & pointed his gun at Susan, saying “Tie her up so she can’t escape!â€. I took the rope & turned to Susan. Susan was looking down at the ropes, her eyes widened a bit. “Put your hands in front of youâ€, I demanded. Susan did what she was told & held her hands in front of her. “Now don’t try anything stupid or he will shoot you!â€. I pointed to Sean. I quickly wrapped the rope around her wrists a few times, then tied a knot, securing them together in front of her. Susan looked down at her wrists as I tied them. I didn’t say anything as I led her over to the front wall of the fort, next to the door. I raised her wrists over her head & hooked them over a large hook in the wall. (used for hanging our hammock, which we broke but the hooks were still there) I actually had to lift her up by the waist a bit just to get the ropes over the hook but then she was fine just standing there & could even drop her arms a little bit. I took a slight step back & looked at Susan, smiling at her.. “That ought to hold you for a whileâ€, I said. (I saw that on TV too) Just then, Susan yelled out, “I’m Kung-Fu! Hi-YAH!†and (pretends to) kick me right between the legs. After all three of us we were done hysterically laughing for about 5 minutes over someone getting kicked in the balls & another 5 minutes over the way she yelled out “I’m Kung-Fu!â€, we settled down, called a do-over & got back to the game. “Hi-YAH!â€, Susan screamed, kicking me. I folded to the floor & pretended to be hurt. Sean ran over to the other window & began undoing the rope from the pulley. “OH YEAH?!?â€, Sean yelled, making his way over to his sister with the rope. I was still rolling on the ground in “pain†while Sean knelt down in front of Susan & wrapped the rope around her ankles, tying them together. “And I’ll use a super secret boy scout knot so you can’t get away!â€, he exclaimed. Susan rolled her eyes. “Shut up Seanâ€, she laughed, mocking Sean’s voice, “Super secret boy scout knot, durrrrrâ€. You’re such a nerd!â€. I couldn’t help but laugh at my friend too.
Susan looked up at her tied wrists & then down at her tied ankles & then back at me. “You’re never going to get away with this!â€, she said sharply, like she was Nancy Drew in peril, scolding her captives. (Remember, Drama Queen?) “You better untie me or you guys are in biiiig trouble! Just wait till Johnnie finds out that you have me! He’s gonna get ya!†I quickly looked around the room for something to gag Susan with, but all I could find was a thick roll of black masking tape we were using to hang posters with. And the posters kept falling off the walls. It ended up working better than I thought! I peeled off two pieces of tape & quickly pressed them over Susan’s mouth. “You need to be quietâ€, I said. She grunted & called out an occasional muffled “let me outta here!†from behind the tape at first but then simmered down and stood there listening to Sean & I as we hatched our plan. “Take a walkie talkie with you over to Johnnie’s hideout. When you get there you call me & I’ll give Johnnie the bad newsâ€, I told Sean. Sean agreed. “But wait a minute, I said. I walked over to Susan & put my hand on the top of her head, leaning it forward. I gently pulled the barrette that was holding her ponytail up out of her hair.
Then it happened...
When Susan lifted her head back up, her eyes met with mine & she gave me the most innocent, wide, scared puppy dog eyes as her long hair fell down around her shoulders. She let out a slight little muffled “mmmph†from behind her gag as she lifted her head. Butterflies formed in my stomach. My heart started to beat faster. I just stared into her eyes for what felt like at least 10 minutes but was more like 10 seconds, saying nothing. I never looked at Susan like that before. Up until that moment, she was just my friend Sean’s sister. At that moment, in my eyes, she became... A Girl...
Sean snapped me out of it. “What are you doing?â€, he asked. I turned & handed him the barrette & told him when Johnnie asks for the money, hand him the barrette & call me on the walkie talkie. (I had seen that on a TV show) Sean quickly grabbed the barrette & the walkie talkie & left the room, I walked over to the door & locked it again, watching him leave the yard thru the crack in the door. Susan stood there silent, her hands tied over head, her mouth taped. She would occasionally look up at her wrists & tug at them or fumble her fingers over the rope, trying to undo the knot to no avail. I looked over towards her. “As soon as Sean calls us on the walkie talkie, I can get the tape from Johnnie & you can go free, okay? Susan looked up at me & nodded her head.
A few moments passed while I stood watch by the door. Then my walkie talkie beeped. I picked it up quickly & moved over to Susan. A voice crackled over the walkie talkie. “ Big Joe, are you there?â€. It was Johnny. I smiled as I answered, “Johnnie. Did Sean give you the barrette?†“Yes he did. What’s this supposed to mean?â€, he asked. I turned & looked at Susan, pressing the walkie talkie button. “I think I have someone here you want to talk toâ€, I said. I reached forward & peeled the tape off of Susan’s mouth slowly. Holding the walkie talkie up to her mouth, I pressed the button. “Say hello to Johnnieâ€, I told her. Susan cleared her throat. “John?â€, she squeaked softly into the microphone. “Who is that?â€, Johnnie replied.
“It’s Susanâ€.
“Susan? What are you doing there?â€
All of a sudden, Susan started yelling & talking real fast, trying to get everything out quickly.
“He’s holding me hostage! He’s got me tied up in the fort! You hafta get me outta he-MMMMPPPHH!!!â€.
I quickly clamped my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet & she simmered down right away, staring at me as I continued on the walkie talkie. “I’ll make you a deal. The girl for the tape.â€
John picked up on it right away. “You better let her go!â€, his voice came loud out of the walkie talkie. I repeated what I had said. “The girl for the tape & no one gets hurt. Deal?â€
Silence over the walkie talkie for a moment, then...
“You’ve got a deal. Where should we meet?â€
“Farmers Field, under the crab apple tree in exactly one hourâ€. (How down-home country does that sound now?)
“Let’s synchronize our watches†(that was a big thing with us when we played with walkie talkies...) I took my hand off of Susan’s mouth to synchronize my watch. Susan remained quiet.
“Exactly one hour. Bring the tape!â€, I continued. “And don’t try anything funny or else you’ll never see the girl againâ€. I turned off the walkie talkie, re-applied some new tape over Susan’s mouth & went back to the door to wait for Sean to come back.
Sean returned after a few minutes but for some reason I can’t remember, had to leave again for a short while but he promised to be back before the “exchangeâ€. Sitting in the fort by the door with a tied up & silent Susan, I was beginning to think I should have said “a half hour†instead of “one hourâ€. It was taking forever. I had to pee. So I turned to Susan. “I’m going to go stand guard outsideâ€, I said, opening the door & stepping outside. I watched as Susan peered at me silently thru the hinge space of the door as I closed it. I ran across the yard & into John’s house thru the back door & into the bathroom. When I was finished, I decided to stop at the kitchen sink & get a drink. As I was filling the glass, John’s Mom walked into the kitchen. “Are you thirsty? Do you want some Juice instead?â€, she asked. Of course I wanted Juice instead of water! “Okayâ€, I replied. John’s Mom pulled out the pitcher & the mix. I fidgeted & kept looking out the back door towards the fort, waiting for her to finish. “How many are out there with you?â€, John’s Mom asked. “Uhm, just me & I have Susan in the fort-I mean-Susan’s in the fort with me-I mean-Susan’s outside in the fort. With me-uhm-usâ€, I nervously stumbled on my words. “So just you & Susan then?â€, she asked. “Yesâ€, I replied as she handed me two paper cups & filled them. “Thanks Mom C.â€, I said & made my way out of the house & across the lawn, careful not to spill my drinks. I returned to the shed & opened the door. I didn’t look at Susan at first as & put the two cups down on the milk crate table. The door opened inwards & she was tied standing up behind the open door at this point. It was when I closed the door & got a good look at her...
It happened again...
Just seeing her standing there, her wrists tied above her head, her ankles tied together, her mouth taped. She looked so innocent & helpless. She locked eyes with me with those innocent, wide, scared puppy dog eyes again & at that exact moment, I swear to you as I sit here writing this, a beam of sunlight shot through one of the cracks in the walls of the shed & hit her little diamond stud earring, her left earring, shooting rainbow sparkling light on the wall behind her. It was at that exact moment I crushed hard for Susan Martin. I look back now & I like to think to myself that somebody somewhere was trying to tell me something at that exact moment. It was just too perfect of a moment to be coincidental. I can see it as clear as day in my mind. She was wearing a baby blue one-piece-elastic-around-the-waist-shorts-and-top-thingy, I think they call it a jumper? It was polka-dotted with little tiny pink hearts. The shoulder straps tied together with little bows atop of each shoulder. Her frilly ankle socks (remember those, ladies?) matched the color of the hearts. Her long hair was over her shoulders, falling down in front of her. A 12 year old boy couldn’t have seen a better Athena at that precise moment. My heart began to pound, I began to sweat, the butterflies were back. I was in love. I didn’t just think it this time, I felt it. I was hypnotized by her. I stood there like an open-mouthed idiot, just stood there & stared at her, melting inside for what felt like forever...
I don’t know what finally snapped me out of it, I think it was Susan looking over my shoulder at the cups on the table. I swallowed hard & cleared my throat but my voice cracked anyway. “Do you wa-ant - uhm - ahem - I got you some - do you want some juice?â€. Susan nodded her head & squeaked “mm-hmm†thru her nose. I picked up a cup & brought it over to her. Peeling the tape off her mouth, I lifted the cup up to meet her lips. My hands were shaking like leaves, the cup trembled in my grasp. “Why are you shaking?â€, she asked. “Uhm.. I’m just...I’m a little cold...that’s allâ€, I came up with a quick one. “Cold? It’s like a hundred in here!â€, she stated, looking at me weird. I had to think quick. “Uhm...I was...I was inside - in the house - with...uhm...The A/C was onâ€, I stuttered. Susan shrugged it off & leaned forward as I tilted the cup & gave her a drink, without spilling any! I lowered the cup & Susan cleared her throat. “Can you take me down from here now?â€, she asked. “My arms are getting tiredâ€. I looked down at my watch. I didn’t think about it but from when we first tied Susan up in the fort, we spent about 5 minutes hatching our plan, another 5 or so minutes laughing over Susan’s “Hi-YAH†thing, another 10 or so minutes for Sean to get to Johnnie’s fort with the barrette & back, Sean left for probably about 10 minutes before I went into the house to pee & get drinks, I was in the house about another 10 minutes. That meant that Susan was tied up in that fort for about 45 minutes or so! I hadn’t realized it was that long! I quickly put the cup on the floor & reached up to her wrists. Then I remembered I had to lift her over the hook. So once again, I lifted her by her waist & she unhooked her tied wrists, lowering them down to her waist once I put her back down. “You can keep me tied up like this if you wantâ€, she said. “I can just sit in the chairâ€. I lifted her wrists & began to untie them. “I got a better ideaâ€, I said. I spun Susan around & took her wrists behind her back, tying them together with the rope. Susan let out a huff of reluctance as I finished off the knot & spun her back around to face me. “There, that’s betterâ€, I said. “You want to sit down?â€. Susan wasted no time & began hopping over to the chair, giggling all the way. She spun around to face me & fell backwards into the recliner with a plop. Falling backwards into the recliner caused the recliner to...well...recline & the footrest came swinging up, lifting her feet & putting her into a horizontal position. I could tell she didn’t expect that to happen, she had a slight look of fright on her when the chair reclined & she had a nervous laugh afterwards at first. “Are you okay?â€, I asked. But Susan went right into Drama Queen. “What are you going to do if Johnnie doesn’t give you the tape?†she sighed, nestling into the chair. She had the puppy dog eyes going again & I felt myself getting all sweaty again. “Uhm... Well... He’ll give me the tapeâ€, I managed to get out. “But what if he don’t? What’s going to happen to me?â€, she had that scared tone in her voice that was driving me crazy & her puppy dog eyes were wider & sadder than before, she tugged at her wrists behind her back, shrugging each shoulder individually. She was hypnotizing me again. I had nothing to say. Again, I just stood there like an idiot, with my mouth no doubt gaping open. Susan spoke up again. “You told Johnnie that he’d never see me again, what did you mean? What are you going to do with me?â€.
I had nothing to say.
“Uhmâ€, I finally snapped back. “Then I guess you’ll just stay our prisoner until he does give me the tape. What do you think of that!â€, I said & spun around, turning my back to her. I had to turn around. She was driving me crazy. And I don’t even think she knew what she was doing to me. Susan sat up in the chair, her feet still reclined in front of her. “Then, can I have some more drink?â€, she softly asked. I picked up her cup & brought it over to her, lifting it up & tilting it for her so she can get a sip. I pulled up the other chair next to her & we sat there for a few moments. She drank all of her drink & most of mine. She must’ve been thirsty, it was pretty hot in that shed & she was gagged most of the time...
Sean returned & knocked on the shed door. I stood up & went over to the door. “What’s the password?â€, I asked. Sean replied. “Operation Girl for Tapeâ€. We didn’t really have a password, so that was good enough. I unlocked the door & Sean walked in, looking at his watch. “Turn the walkie-talkie back on, it’s almost timeâ€. I picked up the walkie talkie & turned it on. John was already trying to get us. “Johnnie the Gun to Big Joe, come in Big Joeâ€. I answered, trying to act like a tough mobster. “Everything ready, Gun?†John replied, “Crab Apple tree in five minutes. Be there!†(I know he stole the “Be There!†thing from Fonzie) Sean began “loading our guns†while I went over & helped Susan stand up out of the recliner. I grabbed the masking tape & stuck another two pieces of tape over Susan’s mouth before I bent down & tried to undo the ropes at her ankles. But I couldn’t undo Sean’s knot! “Hey Super Secret Boy Scout!â€, I called over to Sean. “Can you undo this knot?†Sean came over & knelt down. After a few moments, he couldn’t get the knot undone either. “I can only tie them, I can’t untie themâ€, Sean said. Susan yelled out from behind her gag, laughing. “Smoov Moov Eff Leff!â€, she strained to say. I think she was saying “Smooth Move Ex Lax!â€. Luckily we had some old tools lying around the fort & I found a pair of wire snippers & snipped thru the ropes with them, setting Susan’s legs free. Sean handed me my gun & I stood behind Susan, pressing it against her back. “Okay, Move it!â€, I said to her, (pretend) shoving her with the gun. Susan turned her head around & looked at me over her shoulder and...
Yep, you guessed it...
The puppy dog eyes came out again, in full force, her hair flipped over her shoulder when she spun her head, she tugged at her wrists behind her back & whimpered slightly. I just thought to myself, “Not now! Not in front of other people!â€. But it was already too late. I was already falling again. I felt myself getting flush. My legs froze. Sean had already opened the door & was halfway out of the fort when he turned to see me, open-mouthed & dumb-founded, staring at his sister. “What are you doing? Let’s go!â€, he called out. I came back to reality quickly but this time mustered up enough courage to give Susan a smile. Susan smiled back, the tape covering her mouth wrinkling up on the sides. “What’s going on in there?, Sean called out, eager to get going. “We’re coming!â€, I replied. I shoved Susan with the gun & followed her out of the fort, heading for the Farmer’s Field.
Maybe I should let you in a little bit about the Farmer’s Field. Actually, it wasn’t a farm nor a field at all. It was more like just an empty rectangular lot that nobody built houses on yet. There were a few trees (the crab apple tree being the largest & most centered on the lot) but mostly it was just sticker bushes & high brush with a path cut through it diagonally. Why it was called Farmer’s Field is beyond me, it was like that when we got there...
We marched Susan out of John’s backyard, down the driveway, across the street & headed into the Farmer’s Field path. Sean led the way while I followed Susan, holding the (toy) gun against her back as we walked. We rounded the small bend in the trail & we could see the crab apple tree. John was the only one standing underneath it. He was holding his (toy) shotgun & he held it up, pointing it at us. “About time you got hereâ€, John said. “You got the tape?â€, I said. “First, send her overâ€. “No, first gimme the tapeâ€. “Uh-uhâ€, John replied. “You go firstâ€. I shrugged my shoulders. “Well I’m not letting her go until I get my tapeâ€. John lowered his shotgun. “Okay fine. You bring her here & I’ll hand you the tapeâ€, John replied. “Fineâ€, I said. I reached behind Susan & untied her wrists. She immediately took the tape off of her mouth & wadded it up, beaning me in the head with it. “Take that, ya big meanie!â€, she yelled at me. She was in top Drama Queen mode. I quickly took her hand & began walking her down the rest of the path towards John. “C’mon!â€, I shouted.
Now here’s where it got confusing for me.
As we were slowly walking towards John, Susan kinda sorta gave my hand a squeeze. After a few more steps we stopped in front of John. I attempted to let go of her hand, but she continued to hold it. I looked down at our hands then up at Susan. Her eyes met with mine & a smile slowly came over her. She squeezed my hand again, then let it go, turning & walking behind John.
What the heck did that mean?
Of course, I stood there like...you guessed it...an open mouthed idiot. “Do you want the tape or notâ€, John said, holding the tape up in the air. “Uhm... Yeahâ€, I said, stepping forward to take the tape from John’s hand. I continued to look past John, over at Susan. I was still trying to figure out what she meant by that smile. Suddenly, as I reached for the tape, John’s “men†jumped out of the bushes, guns drawn. “It was an ambush! And it seemed John recruited his other two buddies, Adam & Brian to join Jody on his side. I knew I should’ve said “A half-hour†instead of “One hourâ€!. They began rushing Sean & I as a gun battle ensued. I attempted to come around & either steal the tape or grab Susan again but I lost both my gang & my would-be hostage to dinnertime so we called it a game...
After that, things were always different between Susan & I. We seemed to become close friends overnight. From then on, whenever we played a game involving her being kidnapped, I had to be the bad guy doing the kidnapping. By the end of the summer, we were the closest of friends. Over the years, we would remain the closest of friends, sharing our first kiss the following year. We never officially “dated†although we both came of age together. On Independence Day 1984, we lost our virginity to each other in my tree fort for the sole reason of finding out what it was like. We would end up dating other people in High School. I would still come to her aid when she needed me all the way up our graduation. We lost touch soon after that & we never saw each-other again. But there will always be a special place in my heart for Susan. I’ll never forget her or the times that we spent together. Her smile, her sense of humor. I’ll never forget her eyes...