Her mom must work fast.  I got an email this morning saying, "hey, it's me, I can't wait to contact you!" through email.

Holy cow.  I'm so happy.

My mom had a best friend in high school (named Judy, same as my mom).  Judy had a daughter, Heather, who was two years older than me.  Every time my mom would visit Colorado Springs, I would go visit Heather. She was like my sister.  She was one of those gal pals who taught you the "pass out game" (I know how unsafe that is now, but back then it seemed like just something else Heather would teach me).  We read passages together from Judy Blume's Forever and Fast Times at Ridgemont High before it became a movie.  We called in to request Total Eclipse of the Heart at least 100 times over one particular summer.  She saved a cat that was being tormented at the park.  She was totally my hero.

The last time I saw Heather, she had just gotten her driver's license, had fake, long acrylic nails, was working at Furr's cafeteria and was telling me that she was going to get her own place soon because her mom "was a big rag."  We lost touch after that.  I had heard from someone that she moved out at 17, changed her name from Heather to Heaven (she was big on VC Andrews--wonder if she regrets that name change now), married some guy in the military and had kids.  She and her mom had a huge falling out.  My brother, when he was in college and visiting Colorado Springs, swore he saw her stripping at a club.

I never knew what happened to her.  I've used every resource on the internet to try and find her, locate her.  Finally, I broke down and looked up her mom's address and sent Judy#2 a letter yesterday.  "Hi, remember me?  Can you get me in touch with Heather?"

See, it's not one of those things that makes me believe Heather and I had a falling out ourselves.  Her disappearing was kind of what I might expect from Heather.  She was a wild child. 

So, I hope my letter finds her mother's hands and that her mother has some way of contacting her, or getting ME in touch with her again.  I can't help but wonder what she's doing, where she is.  I've been having dreams about her lately, dreams where she is trying to get to me, but can't.  I had to listen to those dreams.  I hope I find her.

I finally went to my first grad-school reading last night.  They always fall on a night when J has to work, so I've never been able to go.  Last night, he was called off from work and woo!  I went to a reading.  It was a flash fiction edition: 3 poets, 3 fiction writers.  Vince, Nick and Lauren were the fiction readers.  The poets were hella funny, too (those durn poets).  Always feels good to support my classmates.  I thought they did a superb job!

Maybe next year I'll get to participate in a reading myself. 

Writing this semester has been one dry well of nothin'.  I hope to change that over the next few weeks.  I have some great ideas, but executing them has been dubious at best.