Dear Once Upon a Summer Dream,
I never kissed or even hugged the first girl that burned a passionate and lasting hole in my heart. I met a girl a long time on the last night of the party during the 4th of July a long time ago. She came out of state and I live in Minnesota. After a few slow dances, I said she should come back next year. She said, why don't we write. A few days later, some of my friends said that they saw her at Humboldt High school with her cousins. I figured she and her cousins walked there so I went to the public housing nearby and looked for a WA state vehicle, and I found her and spent an afternoon with her and her cousins.
I told her that I would come back another day, if I could get a hug. I was 15 years old, and was not comfortable asking for more. She followed me to the bus stop and I asked her to go back, which she did. Later on, she said she wanted to hug me then, but I was walking too fast. I never made it back because the day she left, I was out on the farm working. When I got home, my mom told me a girl called me 7 times that day.
In her first letter to me, she said, "I love you and misses you very much." We wrote each other for a year, and, all that time, I hope she would return to Minnesota. She never returned, at least in time. I still can remember the pain that little boy felt due to wanting something so much. We broke up or she ask that we break up, and what can I say. but had to agree and set her free. When she finally graduated from high school, she wrote me to ask if I am still available. Unfortunately, at the time I was dating my future ex-wife. She soon found a very handsome and loving man and married as well, and is still happily married.
I am reminded of the quote from the movie 'Field of Dreams' that goes "We just don't recognize life's most significant moments while they're happening. Back then I thought, "Well, there'll be other days." I didn't realize that that was the only day."
