Back to Intros

Introducing... [drumroll please] LEANNE! Leanne, I hope you don't mind if I tell our story from the beginning.

You know how some people are best friends from the moment they meet? That wasn't how it worked for Leanne and me. I believe it would be closer to the song from Wicked. Loathing. :) I couldn't stand her. She couldn't stand me. We were in all of first grade. Then summer came and my mom told me about a new family who had recently moved into the neighborhood. Would I like to go meet the little girl my age? Absolutely! On our walk to their house, I got a small nagging feeling that that little girl might be... Sure enough! It was Leanne. I glared at her. She glared at me. Her mom said, "Why don't you show her your room?" Leanne grudgingly invited, "Come on." And thus began a long and fruitful friendship.

We actually became a foursome with my brother Seth and friend Debbie (now cousin-in-law). The four of us would go on adventures, slaying evil monsters and coming off victors. Being the tired one of the group, I would often sit on the couch and read and send the rest off on quests. Whenever they finished a quest, they would come back to me and I would think up a new quest. (Usually with their help.)

Sometimes we would play with marbles. But not the ordinary way. Our marbles represented people and villages. So instead of us going on adventures, our marbles would. Sometimes they got lost... [ha, ha]

I remember when Leanne started to write books. I thought she was the best writer in the world. She wrote a book about my tiger Arsath. We just knew it would get published. I think Leanne was 11 at the time. She was also an artist and she and Seth would sometimes draw our characters.

Leanne is smart as smart can be. She was always a motivation to keep up with in schoolwork. She's creative and fun. But I remember her being very restful too. Some days we would just read books together. (My favorite activity.) Almost all of my childhood memories involve Leanne in some form or other. I think I can blame most of my creativity on her. I still dream of adventures we had. I still believe she'll write a great book someday.

Everyone should have a friend like Leanne. Too bad she's one of a kind. :)