Today’s the 2nd. That means it’s Ricky B’s birthday, the boy I loved in 2nd grade. He was new to the school that year, and when he walked into the classroom, my mind instantly turned from “boys are yucky” to “boys are cute!” Although my crush lasted way into to 6th grade, by the time he had finally realized that point of relationship maturity, I had moved on to bigger and better targets to crush on from afar. (I continued to crush from afar until I was 26 and finally worked up the nerve to date someone.) But as they say, you never forget your first, and you never forget your first’s birthday. (Do they say that?)
I remember our school field trip to the Statue of Liberty where I had a friend pose for a picture so I could catch a shot of him in the background. I cherished that photo for years, and I hope it’s still in my box of stuff. That same friend also had a crush on Ricky, and instead of fight over him, we worked out a system so we could both marry him. (It might have involved moving to Utah, but I think it mostly involved sharing, as sharing is more commonly taught to second graders than polygamy.) I remember the excitement I felt during the summer before fourth grade, when we all called each other to find out who was in Mrs. A’s class, and who was in the other class. Guess who was with me in Mrs. A’s class? And I remember the holiday play, where we were lined up to stand on the bleachers by height. I was just about a half inch taller than Ricky, so I slouched a little so we could stand next to each other. It worked, and we were paired next to each other! Then the evil music teacher split us up into rows of two, so we would make a triangular shape on the bleachers. Like me, Ricky ended up two people in from the end, with at least a dozen stupid taller second graders between us.
And for some reason I remember that December 2nd was his birthday, and I always remember that every year. I also remember the first phone number I ever memorized (my other best friend from elementary school,) exactly what that mean girl called me in junior high, the time I called my sixth grade teacher “Mom” by accident, the time my fourth grade teacher asked us all to give her examples of famous quotations, and in private afterward, I quoted her scripture because I was too shy to do it in front of the class. Those are among a handful of really odd and pointless clear as day memories and facts that seem to stay at the forefront, no matter how hard I try and remember the name of the potential new client I JUST met.
Ricky B, wherever you are (and it’s not on Facebook, because believe me, I checked,) I hope you are having a wonderful 31st birthday. I hope you know that I was holding that candle for you all those years, even if you did kind of turn into a thug when we got to high school. You’ll always be my first, and that is something I won’t forget.
Posted by lizgwiz on December 2, 2008 at 9:54 am
Awww…Ricky lost out. He could have lived every man’s dream. I will never forget my first love, John Robert Me**sco, though I don’t remember his birthday. Just his freckles, and the way he gallantly tried to rescue me in kindergarten.
I always called one of my elementary school teachers “Mom.” Probably because she was my mom. Heh.
I’d love to hear the story of the kindergarten rescue.
Posted by mickey on December 2, 2008 at 11:02 am
A lot of kids turned into thugs in high school, didn’t they?
Calling your teacher “mom” made me laugh.
Yeah, there were thugs everywhere in high school.
Posted by jason on December 2, 2008 at 11:52 am
i had a dream that he lived across the street from a friends house and i saw him there when i was walking my dogs. weird.
That is odd, I didn’t realize you also have memories of the kid.
Posted by courtney on December 2, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Awww. Noelle and Ricky, sittin’in a tree…
What if he really did read this? That would be hilarious.
That would be. Doubtful, but hilarious.
Posted by MrsTwink on December 2, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Ha! I love it. I remember the name of the boy I had my first real crush on and have googled his name tons of times… and there are just too many to know if it’s him. So sad.
Same thing with the first boy that I kissed, he’s got a way common name.
Posted by The Modern Gal on December 2, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I regularly check Facebook for my first crush, but he’s not there either. I do know what he’s doing, though, because my mother is very, very good at keeping tabs on all my former classmates. I think it’s her way of knowing that her child is doing better than everyone elses.
I don’t remember his birthday, but I’m almost certain it was in December and always while we were on winter break.
I can almost always count on my mom to know the news of anyone.
Posted by Dingo on December 2, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I also remember totally random things. My first boyfriend’s name was Gordy. He was ahead of his time even at six years old with plaid madras shorts and yes, a fedora. He was the original hipster.
So cute! Baby hipsters.
Posted by Gretchen on December 2, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Mine was Danny H. and he was a six-year-old dreamboat. I always wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t moved.
I bet it would have been love. Or he turned into a thug.
Posted by bing on December 2, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I’m like you and remember all this random stuff from my past that is fairly useless. It’s kind of cool I guess.
The best thing is when you run into former crushes who were the hottest thing to you when you were younger, and you see them now and think, meh I didn’t miss out after all.
Sometimes that candle just burns out after a while.
Posted by abbersnail on December 2, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I remember useless things, too. I remember the date of my 7th grade breakup (September 16), my kindergarten best-friend’s phone number, and other kind of pitiful information. But ask me the name of someone I’ve been talking to for ten minutes at a party, and I’m OUT.
Yup, that just happened to me last night. I met someone new and I could feel myself forgetting her name just as I was learning it.
Posted by Kir on December 2, 2008 at 5:10 pm
at least your first crush was someone tangible. while in the 3rd grade… i fell in love with Alistair on “you can’t do that on television.” a bloody Canadian television character! oh, and matty’s students call him dad all the time. even mom, once.
Oh, I loved Alistair too!
Posted by stefanie on December 2, 2008 at 5:47 pm
You are adorable. I’m glad I’m not the only one who remembers pointless details (like the birthdays of half the kids I went to grade school with and my high school locker combination). If you want to find Ricky, of course, the trick is to include his full name in this post so he finds it while vanity Googling. You knew that, of course, though, and I agree with your decision that perhaps this post is not the first thing you want him to see when you finally reconnect someday.
I would be curious if he ever knew about my crush or remembers me, but I’m too chicken to find out.
Posted by alexa on December 2, 2008 at 8:26 pm
i’m dying right now. i totally have background boy pictures! hahaha
It was the only way to be a shy kid!
Posted by nancypearlwannabe on December 3, 2008 at 11:22 am
Maybe Ricky B. is on Facebook and you can friend him and then you will rekindle your second grade love and marry in the Hudson Valley! I have this all mapped out for you, obvs.
Methinks you missed the part where no, he is not on Facebook. But I haven’t tried Google yet…
Posted by Little Fish on December 3, 2008 at 11:23 am
In seventh grade (my first year in public school) I fell madly in crush with Dave W. He was the first “alternative” kid in the whole school. He wore a blazer with quotations scrawled all over it in black marker and listened to The Smiths. My crush lasted until high school at which point he stopped growing and topped out at only 2 0r 3 inches taller then me (and I’m only 5’2), but I will continue to think of him every time I hear Morrisey sing…
I would have gone for that.
Posted by Allie on December 3, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Aw! That’s so cute! My first big big big crush is totally on Facebook, but I don’t care to friend him. He kind of turned into an ass.
I totally remember taking pictures of my friend to try to get him in the background.
Posted by Kristabella on December 3, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Aww, young love. My first crush was in 2nd grade too. His name was Jimmy. And he was SO cool because he wore a pink polo with a popped collar. Which was COOL and RISKY in the 80s. Not so much now. Now popping your collar is just douchey.
Posted by Z on December 4, 2008 at 9:42 am
I love childhood memories, and you’ve got some great ones!!!