It probably didn't help that you were hanging out with me and my fanny pack... :(

I don't remember your duffel, but I do remember Sha's fanny pack.

I also remember walking with you from the drama building to the seventh grade commons, and there was a tree branch that slanted up -- you walked under the higher part, and I walked smack into the branch. Every time I try to claim my klutziness developed later in life, I remember that tree.

Oh dang. But in my defense, fanny packs are totally making a comeback. Sarah Jessica Parker wore one on Sex and the City, and if that's not high fashion, well I don't know what is.

And if this is going to derail into middle-school memories, let us not forget Andrea's claim that a new lizard would grow out of an amputated lizard tail...

Gwen, I definitely remember your encounter with the tree. But somehow it is Sha's fanny pack that outshines all other memories of middle school.

It's cool: suddenly so much is coming back to me. Pretending to slap Jake Quicksall on the face, only to have Mr. Murphy walk out of his classroom at that exact moment, and run to Jake's side to ask if he was okay. Joel Eidsath and his morse code; he would always offer unsolicited translations of phrases, "dit daa daa dit dit dit daa dit." And the middle school dances; I think I always treated them like games, to see how many girls I could possibly dance with over the course of the evening. Boy was I a little wannabe heterosexual player.

Also, despite the fanny pack (not to mention my imminent discovery of my homosexuality), I had an enormous crush on Sha Sha. Go figure.

Such is the power of the fanny pack.

That pretend slap has left a hell of a mark, Nathaniel.

Also, David Gray and I had a good laugh about the Diflucan back in the seventh grade.

-Jake

Crunchy...you know the rest.

Thanks God, Viagra hadn't made it into the market at that time.

Tee hee. I had a duffle bag too. I still have it, and filled it with a giant down comforter and snow clothes for Mammoth last weekend--no one believed I had ever used that huge bag for my books. It's amazing we aren't all cripled from hauling around our 40 pound duffles on that campus. Now all those kids have rolly-bags. :)
Anyway--Nate--I came across your myspace page, which is how I got here--and I've enjoyed reading your blog and all the funny comments from Sha Sha, Gwen and Jake. Made me smile. Your photo blog rocks too. Hope you are doing well--it looks like it!

That is hilarious!

My father is a physician and I grew up hearing disgusting stories at the dinner table, so to this day my sister and I have a tendency to talk about things like prostate exams and Pap smears while eating. I have lately gotten out of the habit of such behavior, but unfortunately for my sister, her attendance at med school just adds fuel to the fire.

Yup--like you, my mom, dad, *and* sister are physicians. I have heard my share of "doctor talk" (i.e. inappropriate conversation) at the dinner table. But I have always tried my best to steer the conversation elsewhere...