#75, Jeanelle.

We worked together at the stained glass store. You were tall and boyish, with a mischievous grin and short black hair. When we "helped out" with the night classes, we'd sit in the front of the store watching Sifl and Olly videos while everyone diligently worked on their lamps. We drove around in your Impala blasting "Slim Shady" when Eminem first appeared on the scene. Often we would end up walking along the train tracks, drinking Heinekens, ogling graffiti in complete silence. Once, we clambered atop a defunct locomotive car and threw our empty bottles through the nearby (also defunct) warehouse windows. Filled with thrill, we clambered back down to the car, laughing as we screeched away because our clothes were covered with soot.

#71, Alexandria.

Ah, Alexandria. My childhood partner-in-crime. You were so pretty and mischievous, with long, wavy, dark golden hair. i remember playing Atari (Donkey Kong!) and eating deliciously sweet lemon-flavored yogurt (through a straw) at your house, which was one of the nicer ones i'd ever seen. It had rosebushes and a white-picket fence, not to mention a secret door in one of the upstairs hallways that lead to the attic. Super exciting. You and i were obsessed with Richie Valens for awhile; we'd sit on the light-blue carpet of your bedroom floor belting out "Oh Donna" and "Boney Maronie". We knew all of the lyrics to every song, and we must have watched La Bamba like eighty times. i used to steal tubs of Betty Crocker chocolate frosting and eat it at your house. i kept it hidden underneath your bed, along with a spoon. You had rose-scented Play-Doh, a Corgi who was constantly trying to hump my leg, and a cute older brother whom i had a crush on. Once, in your backyard, he flicked my leg with a wet towel and it left a huge welt.

One afternoon, we decided to pull off The Great Candy Heist. Dressed up in various costumey-accessories (a flashy gold lamé purse among them), we headed to the nearby drug store. Once in the candy aisle, i stuffed bar after bar of the good stuff into my purse, and into the giant rolled-up cuffs of my pants. You had your shirt bottom pulled up and then back down through the neck hole, bra-style, and were busily shoving bags of M&Ms in there. i believe there were also some Abba Zabbas crammed into your cowboy boots. i had Butterfingers in my jacket sleeves. We bought a Caramello each, for authenticity, and headed toward the sliding doors with our score.

An old security guard caught us (Your mother let you buy that much candy?) before we even got to the parking lot. We were marched back down the candy aisle (i sobbed: we'll put it baaaaack!) to the office at the rear of the store. Mug shots were taken of us both, each with a mat placed on our knees containing the heap of candy we'd stolen. Our parents were phoned, and arrived shortly to drag us to the car by our wrists. We were forbidden to see each other after that, and (i don't know about you but) i was grounded for weeks. We lost touch sometime after that. You went to Costa Rica? That's all i knew. Hope to get back in touch with you some day.

#66, Suzanna K.

Suzanna. i can't remember if it was an "S" or a "Z", but you were a character, indeed. The oldest picture i have of you from middle school was you kissing my best girl friend J____ in the living room of my mom's old house. Such a shocker! You had short (almost shaved, most of the time) dark hair and gorgeous eyes, often heavy-lidded due to recent marijuana use. Long eyelashes, a dreamy way of talking. Your mom was a harsh woman, and your dad lived in a vaaaaaaaaan, down by the marina! He was Native American, and had a huge drinking problem. You and i used to ride our bikes down there to visit him. He smoked Camel non-filters ("bullets"), which i thought was so impressive that i started to smoke them myself, for about a month, until i thought i would literally hack up a lung. One night, while drunk, you fell from Indian Rock (not terribly far, but enough to cut your head), where we were all hanging out in the middle of the night. A few of us ran down the path and found someone with a phone, and an ambulance was called. Your mom was furious. She made you go to AA, and since no one else would go with you, i did. It was not so bad; we were definitely the youngest ones in the room. Later you ran away from home and stayed at a friend's house in Berkeley. i visited you there, and your room smelled like pot and sounded like Jimi Hendrix. There was a huge tie-died sheet as a curtain, and you were mad when i said we were worried about you. Where are you now? i miss you, Suzanna.

#64, Wana Chiu.

Wana, you were my best (and only?) friend in fourth grade. We had just moved to Alameda (in the middle of the night, after my mom left my dad) that year and i was jumping in to a new school. You were so quiet, even more than me. You had long black hair and mumbled when you talked, but you were just the sweetest thing. Your family lived across town from mine, and whenever i was at your house we were always eating Peeps.
Once, during lunchtime, we sat against the wall of the school, at the edge of the playground, and some boys threw a basketball at the wall in between us as we ate our sandwiched, just for kicks, but there was one missed throw and your nose was bleeding. You ran inside.
You were also there when i jumped from the swings at the park near my house and my shirtsleeve got caught in the chain; i was flung awkwardly to and fro while gravity did the rest of its job. The swing dragged me backwards through the sand, which ground into my gums and went up my nose. Where are you these days? Do you look out from behind your curtain of hair?

#60, Melissa.

We worked together at the Meadows. you were almost ten years my senior, with a warm, inviting smile, skin that had seen lots of (but not too much!) sun, lots of laugh lines. You were sort of a down-to-earth, bicycle-riding dog lover (Greta!) who knew how to work hard. Very even, pleasant personality, and we discovered that we had a lot in common musically, one day when we started talking about Patti Smith. You burned me a couple of her albums, and months later we found ourselves driving down to Santa Cruz (with another girl from work, more your friend than mine) to see a PJ Harvey concert. That night was so, so much fun... your boyfriend was smaller than you and always seemed cranky when i would see him at the bike shop, until he found out that i knew you, and soon we were chattin' it up all the time. Eventually it turned out that you had developed breast cancer, at a very very young age (mid thirties). i moved away shortly after that, and looked you up online to make sure that you had made it through.. and you had... Best of luck to you, Melissa. Hope you are still riding your bike.