My First Breakup

Martha Snively. It’s been a long time. Hard to believe this memory still exists in the dark recesses of my cerebral cortex but there it is. Maybe it has something to do with COVID – how it is unable to unlock distant memories long forgotten but periodically swim to the surface for me to snatch it and to admire it, before throwing it back into the deep gray matter…because it is funny. Feel that it must be similar to the LSD ingested by the late great Hunter S. Thompson when he wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Not that I have ever read this psychedelic novel penned by one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. There I said it – COVID brain bears a close resemblance to a hallucinogenic that is conducive to creativity. You heard it here first.

First of all, I am just getting over COVID for the second time. I should feel lucky because some people have 3-4 times which must be just brutal. I am now in day 4 and actually feel that I have some energy to do some things….and that includes writing. As I navigated through a topsy turvy night of broken sleep. chills, layering up and layering down as needed, my mind was wandering to beat the band. And it is quite some band I might add. Finally, for some reason, it settled on the following memory and it made me smile.

Let’s take a trip back to 1975 – I was in third grade at Ben Avon Elementary School which is located in a small suburb just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. As I mentioned in an earlier post entitled Fight Club, it wasn’t unusual to have a ‘girlfriend’ at the age of 8. Growing up as a Gen X’er, things were just different. I was smitten with a girl in my class. Martha Snively. She laughed at my jokes, we talked at recess, talked on the phone at night, and maybe we even held hands at one point….but I’m not even sure about that. Martha sat next to me in Mrs. Pershing’s class and that pretty much made us a couple.

Now I am not sure how things went sideways with our relationship, but this is what I remember quite vividly. And again, can’t remember what precipitated the breakup…did I start chasing another girl? Did I ghost her before I even knew that was a thing? Did I forget to give her a card on Valentine’s Day? However, it must have been something I did because of Martha’s final words to me.

And funnily enough, she didn’t have to use any words to give me the clear sign that we were through as a couple…finished…over. You see, I showed up to school one day to find that Martha was no longer sitting next to me…she was now sitting several rows in front of me and off to the side. At the top of my desk/chair combo, was a note folded over several times with just my name on the top of it….Alan. I was intrigued as I hastily opened it.

When I unfolded it, it was roughly the size of 8 1/2 x 11 letterhead….and then I saw it. A hand drawn picture of an enclosed fist with a solitary middle finger extending upwards from the rest of the hand. They say a picture paints a thousand words….or in this case just two…and I clearly got the message. Cold. Stone Cold.

I still remember how lifelike that OG emoji looked …drawn in pencil, it was perfect. It captured all of the anatomy of the hand – the wrinkles of the skin, the perfectly proportioned knuckle of the middle finger, the beautifully shaped and manicured fingernail, and even drawn to scale. Martha obviously had some artistic talent.

Not sure whatever happened to Martha – just like she might be wondering the same about me, unless she discovered my two instagram channels, my X account, or even this blog. But I have to give this young girl some credit. At an early age, she showed some spunk…she was going to put you in your place if needed, even if it required an artist’s rendition of flipping the bird. This was a life skill that no doubt would have served her well in her future. Mess around with Martha and you find out.

So as I am slowly recovering from COVID (did I tell you already that this is my second time having it?), these are thoughts, images, and stories that flash across my mind. And that’s not a bad thing because although life can be hard, we have to remind ourselves that life is good and we should treasure our memories and be grateful for every single one.

As always, appreciate you checking out this story..hope it made you smile too..and until next time!

Al