I grew up with Denise in Memorial Bend, she lived a block away from me. I remember how exotic her parents seemed to be, especially with her Dad being from Spain and into scuba diving. And who can forget running away from both of her parents at the doctor's office during vaccination season!
When Denise was about 7 years old she remembered my mother's birthday and got her a birthday card. At the time, I didn't understand it but my Mom just about died laughing. The card had a horse on the front, and on the inside Denise had written in crayon, "The old grey mare just AIN'T what she used to be!" Now when I think about it, I can't believe how sophisticated her humor was at the age of 7. You'd never know it by how goofy she acted.
Her parents invited me to dinner one evening, and I had no manners. The family was just so...different. They drove a Mercedes convertible, her Dad had a thick accent and her mother and sisters were so intense. AND they had an exotic aquarium with a little shark swimming in it - big-time stuff for little 'ol Memorial Bend! When they asked me for dinner I said, "Well, um, it depends...what...are you making for dinner?" The parents never asked me over again, they thought I was a rude little shit. Hey, at the time it was an honest question - they were making calamari that night, but all I had heard was "squid".
In the first grade at Bendwood Elementary they had that experimental "open" classroom and I remember Denise, with the braces on her legs, teeth and head, taking off those leg braces. They were attached to her waist, with thick rubber hoses that, in turn, attached to her shoes. Denise would take off her shoes and stand there twirling around like the Tasmanian Devil, with her shoes flying in a tight arc and wiping out anyone who got in her path. She could clear a room in 10 seconds flat, and I always encouraged her to "do it again" and she did until she got so dizzy she puked. Then we got to go to nurse's office for a couple of hours (she needed an escort you know).
One day we were sitting there at the Nurse's office and I pulled out some LifeSavers - we had nothing better to do since neither one of us was really sick. We wondered if we swallowed the LifeSavers horizontally, if we could still breathe through the little hole in them - because we wanted to know if THAT was why they were called LifeSavers in the first place! (Yes, we were idiots). I went first. That is not why they call them LifeSavers. I sat there in agony for 30 minutes until the LifeSaver melted, and quickly discovered that milk (which Denise had run to get) was not a solution for melting the LifeSaver more quickly. And of course one has to wonder where in the hell the nurse was when we REALLY needed her!
The next day Denise and I thought we would be cool by storing our pencils in our bobby socks. You know, a new twist on the slide ruler in the top pocket...we sharpened those pencils and stuck them in our socks, and then Denise challenged me to a foot race down the hallway. One step and I was impaled with the freshly sharpened pencil. I have the lead in my calf to this day to fondly remind me of Denise...
I last saw Denise and Kristi Simmons about 12 years ago. It was the week before I was moving to Europe, and I was standing there in Central Market buying a care package as though they had no comforts like cheese in Holland. Suddenly this voice yells out, "Toni!" like a day had not passed since childhood. I had not seen her for at least 20 years at the time. We caught up and stayed in touch for about 6 months. She had told me about a lot of difficulties with death in the family, and then told me that she had severe kidney problems. All, of course, with a smile on her face and that ornery sense of humor of hers - never a bitch, just that sweet, goofy and viciously funny humor that anyone who knew her was familiar with.
I told her that I would be happy to be tested as a possible match for a kidney transplant, and she said that she would follow up but never really did. I guess she didn't think that I was serious. I was so sad to hear about her death, and I only heard about it a few weeks ago. Kristi Simmons - please write to me if you read this, I would like to talk to you about Denise and want to know about the funeral and anything else you can tell me - I know that you were her best friend.
I will always remember Denise, she was one of the happiest memories of my childhood and I think of her often with a huge smile on my face. It's hard, when thinking of her, not to smile so much you just have to laugh. Denise, thank you for that...I will always miss you!
Toni Moss
I grew up with Denise in Memorial Bend, she lived a block away from me. I remember how exotic her parents seemed to be, especially with her Dad being from Spain and into scuba diving. And who can forget running away from both of her parents at the doctor's office during vaccination season!When Denise was about 7 years old she remembered my mother's birthday and got her a birthday card. At the time, I didn't understand it but my Mom just about died laughing. The card had a horse on the front, and on the inside Denise had written in crayon, "The old grey mare just AIN'T what she used to be!" Now when I think about it, I can't believe how sophisticated her humor was at the age of 7. You'd never know it by how goofy she acted.
Her parents invited me to dinner one evening, and I had no manners. The family was just so...different. They drove a Mercedes convertible, her Dad had a thick accent and her mother and sisters were so intense. AND they had an exotic aquarium with a little shark swimming in it - big-time stuff for little 'ol Memorial Bend! When they asked me for dinner I said, "Well, um, it depends...what...are you making for dinner?" The parents never asked me over again, they thought I was a rude little shit. Hey, at the time it was an honest question - they were making calamari that night, but all I had heard was "squid".
In the first grade at Bendwood Elementary they had that experimental "open" classroom and I remember Denise, with the braces on her legs, teeth and head, taking off those leg braces. They were attached to her waist, with thick rubber hoses that, in turn, attached to her shoes. Denise would take off her shoes and stand there twirling around like the Tasmanian Devil, with her shoes flying in a tight arc and wiping out anyone who got in her path. She could clear a room in 10 seconds flat, and I always encouraged her to "do it again" and she did until she got so dizzy she puked. Then we got to go to nurse's office for a couple of hours (she needed an escort you know).
One day we were sitting there at the Nurse's office and I pulled out some LifeSavers - we had nothing better to do since neither one of us was really sick. We wondered if we swallowed the LifeSavers horizontally, if we could still breathe through the little hole in them - because we wanted to know if THAT was why they were called LifeSavers in the first place! (Yes, we were idiots). I went first. That is not why they call them LifeSavers. I sat there in agony for 30 minutes until the LifeSaver melted, and quickly discovered that milk (which Denise had run to get) was not a solution for melting the LifeSaver more quickly. And of course one has to wonder where in the hell the nurse was when we REALLY needed her!
The next day Denise and I thought we would be cool by storing our pencils in our bobby socks. You know, a new twist on the slide ruler in the top pocket...we sharpened those pencils and stuck them in our socks, and then Denise challenged me to a foot race down the hallway. One step and I was impaled with the freshly sharpened pencil. I have the lead in my calf to this day to fondly remind me of Denise...
I last saw Denise and Kristi Simmons about 12 years ago. It was the week before I was moving to Europe, and I was standing there in Central Market buying a care package as though they had no comforts like cheese in Holland. Suddenly this voice yells out, "Toni!" like a day had not passed since childhood. I had not seen her for at least 20 years at the time. We caught up and stayed in touch for about 6 months. She had told me about a lot of difficulties with death in the family, and then told me that she had severe kidney problems. All, of course, with a smile on her face and that ornery sense of humor of hers - never a bitch, just that sweet, goofy and viciously funny humor that anyone who knew her was familiar with.
I told her that I would be happy to be tested as a possible match for a kidney transplant, and she said that she would follow up but never really did. I guess she didn't think that I was serious. I was so sad to hear about her death, and I only heard about it a few weeks ago. Kristi Simmons - please write to me if you read this, I would like to talk to you about Denise and want to know about the funeral and anything else you can tell me - I know that you were her best friend.
I will always remember Denise, she was one of the happiest memories of my childhood and I think of her often with a huge smile on my face. It's hard, when thinking of her, not to smile so much you just have to laugh. Denise, thank you for that...I will always miss you!