Monday, July 16, 2018
Rachel and I grew up three houses apart in Huntingon Station, NY. For many years as a child, she was my best friend. Some of my best childhood memories include her, sitting under the weeping willow tree in her back yard eating wild berries we picked; looking for tadpoles in the pond in the woods across the street from our homes, or just wandering through the woods on hot summer days; going to the movies on rainy Saturday mornings, sharing a large bag of popcorn, and then going across the street to Little Vincent's pizza parlor for lunch. We may have been too young to call it that, but she was my first girl friend, and my first kiss was shared with her. As an adult, watching the Wonder Years on tv with my children, I often though that show was the story of our childhood, innocent love of a best friend. Her family left Long Island while we were in Junior High School, but I never had the chance to say goodbye to her. It was on my birthday this year, having shared a picture from one of our elementary school photos that someone posted that day on the school district website, with my sister-in-law, that I pointed out Rachel to her. My sister-in-law asked if I had kept in touch, but I hadn't having never heard from Rachel again, so she did a search on google for Rachel, hoping to have located her for me. This birthday, my sister-in-law gave me both the best and worst birthday present I've ever received in my lifetime. She advised me she found an obituary for a Rachel Turner from six months earlier. I read the obituary, looked at one photo, and knew it was her. My first crush, my first girlfriend, my first very best friend, had passed away. I've wished every day since that I had been able to locate Rachel before she left us, to tell her how important and large part of my childhood she was, what great memories I had of hanging out with her, playing king of the hill on a then vacant lot between our houses, hiking through the woods, playing at the playground at Washington School, going to the candy store and loading up on candy, sharing that very first kiss, and just being normal everyday kids. Thanks Rachel for being a part of my life. Steve Stone
