Thriller...

The good news about being in my 30's is that I know the dance moves to Michael Jackson's Thriller... the bad news is that I do the dance rather well.

I remember when that album came out. I was in grade three. The same year that I met my best friend, Nanz.

Yes, Nanz is one of my oldest friends.... granted we grew apart in highschool due to the fact she moved to Vancouver & discovered black while I stayed in Tsawwassen & clapped my hands. Yes, the cheerleader vs the grunge artist tend not to mesh well. In fact, right after my mother passed, we didn't speak for five years until we happened upon each other one day in the mall and realized that we've met somewhere back in the middle. She added colour to her wardrobe & I well, I'd like to say I've calmed down but well, you've met me.

Tsawwassen isn't a large town. It has a population of may be 13 000 (at least when I lived there) but pretty much everyone knows each other. I remember seeing her at swimming lessons. So when she was placed in my class that following September, I couldn't wait til recess where I ran up grabbed her hand & exclaimed "Let's Play!"

What I don't remember is what I said to them next "I've never seen people like you before".... (yes, Tsawwassen was pretty much an all white community) However, as opposed to recoiling by their differences, I was rather intrigued.

What's ironic is that I rarely approach people myself. I will always speak with people who talk to me but I myself, don't go up to people with the exception of 2 people Nanz & Sam (oh, I forgot about Charlene. She wasn't a complete stranger & rather I greeted her when she came to Tiff's house but I was met with a growl & it took me a good 6 months before I spoke to her again).

ANYWAYS... Seeing as Nanz was the new kid in school, she arranged to meet her younger sister at the teeter totters on the break which is where I also met Erin who was my grade 3 hero. Later that week I went over to their house to play after school and we decided a fun game was to climb up the bunk beds, onto the bookshelf & out the window to the roof. (This proves to me that kids will do whatever, whenever they can & you can only protect them so much) Nanz managed to get outside but as I was about to go through the window, a spider came spindling down, startling me & sent me flying off the bookshelf. I hate spiders. In fact, I'm deathly afraid of them & have nightmares about them to this day.

BUT Erin, my hero, dramatically killed that dreadful spider by throwing every book on it, stomping on it and doing everything possible to help stop my tears. Ever since that day, she had my heart.

Nanz too helped me with my fears. When I was 8, the video for Thriller came out & was revolutionary in its broadcast. The dancing zombies & Vincent Price's voice scared me so much that even though I was a die hard MJ fan, it was very hard for me to hear the complete version of the song.

When Vincent spoke, it was over top of the zombies chasing down the girl in the street and so it reminded me of that each time I heard the song that is until I listened to it with Nanz. You see, one of our favourite things was to but on MJ and dance... but when that song came on, I got squeamish. She instructed me to sit down & plug my ears. So as I sat there with my fingers inserted in the side of my head, I was waiting for ... something. Right at the end of the song she falls down rolling around pointing & laughing, pretending that Vincent's laugh was hers. Poof... my fears have been switched over to what probably was my first inside joke (albeit, lame but you gotta start somewhere).

It was these two that helped me get out of my shell. They helped me see things differently and I sill value their friendship to this day.... granted that was the last time they've done anything nice for me (JOKING!... sort of) but yes, with out them I'd be worse off.