Hippie Trader Joe's Employee.

If I had a picture of the Hippie Trader Joe's Employee he would probably resemble Karl Marx (if you don't know who Karl is read the Communist Manifesto...or wikepedia Karl Marx). But to be quite honest, I think anyone older than 61 does or should resemble Marx. I just like the way he looks, okay?

Me and Juliette scootered to Trader Joe's where we planned to get these delicious ice cream sandwiches that have ice cream squished between two delicious choco chip cookies (picture above! Yes, delicious! I know!). We were looking forward to this so much, both in the mood for this specific TJ's dessert.

We walk to the dessert aisle and guess what's not there...the ice cream sandwiches (look above again, so sad, right?)! Darn it! A few employees passed by, and finally we approached Mr. Hippie Trader Joe's Employee. J asked him if he could check in the back for the treats. After getting the free sample of enchiladas, we picked out juice and another frozen treat, but we wanted the sandwiches so dang bad! Mr. Hippie comes out of the back and guess what...not in stock, most likely snatched up by greedy, hungry thief-type shoppers! Darn it!

But sometimes things happen the way they do, and in the end, you are happier than you would have been with the result you expected. Mr. Hippie Trader Joe's Employee finds another delectable dessert, one we had never tried before because it was new. It was a box of mini ice cream cones with the ice cream covered in chocolate (pictured above, cute, yes!). Yummo! So he grabs the box, tells us what they are. Then he proceeds to slice the box open, maybe with a swiss army knife or his keys. And then, get this, he hands me and J yummo ice cream cones! Free ice cream cones! Score! So, we couldn't have our first choice, but maybe the sandwiches were out of stock for a reason! Maybe the reason was so that this Hippie-Nice Man-Employee could make two little ladies really, really happy. Maybe it happened so a Stranger-Employee-Man could give us a little bit of unexpected kindness. Maybe it was to remind us all that we need to act out of love because it just might change someones day, or make a someones good day turn into a GREAT day!

Thank you Hippie Trader Joe's Employee; I guess you gave me a necessary reminder that what we give to the world will, in a tiny way, come back to us. I believe that when we give joy to others, often we are repayed in some little way. Maybe in the form of an ice cream cone, maybe in the form of a smile or a flower or a five dollar bill or a penny or maybe a hug. Hippie Man, you are a kind man, whose small gesture helped me remember how much I love the little things. I hope I never forget you, mister. And wherever you go, whatever you do, thank you!

Kara.

My favorite thing about seeing my childhood friends grow-up is the wierd, hilariously-predictable people they become. Many have joined Sororities, others have become potheads, some still have that awkward middle-school face that is halfway between being a child and an adult. These un-changed faces make me LOL. Oh, boys who were once so cute, you are now simply awkward looking men (men is stretch... never men to me, sorry). Alas, childhood memories make me do one of two things: giggle or cringe. This girl, and the memories that come along with her, make me smile, giggle, and, mostly, remind me of how much I loved living in a small town off the north shore of Boston.

I think I (will) like this post the best out of them all, because yes, it's the first post, but mostly because it is a post about a girl that has never really grown up. And I like that and, daily, I long for that to be my own reality just as it is hers. I remember my elementary days with a great fondness and I'm sure I owe part of this to Kara Thomas; this girl was always insanely hard to pin down and impossible to put into a specific box. Everything about Kara was intriguing and made me wonder what made her different from all of us. Even now, I see her as nothing but free; a wild, free, beautiful child. I lived in Essex for 7 years, and most of those years I went to school with Kara Thomas. I remember most distinctly her wild hair behind her, as she would run through the Eagle's Nest playground. I remember her faithfulness to her best friend, Justine (pictured above) who, I am sure, will be her best friend forever. I remember when we were in the musical Annie together; she played one of the orphans and was lucky enough to sing "You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile". I remember during 5th grade when she made me a cake for my birthday and had my friends surprise me at my house, and later we went sledding down the backyard for birthday festivities; we probably fell thousands of times (neither of us were graceful back then, or now). I remember saying goodbye to her the summer before 6th grade, thinking I would never see her again after I moved to Phoenix, Arizona.

Years later, when I moved back to New England I got together with Kara through a mutual friend, Tavia, who Kara met in high school and I had known her from my Sunday School days. Together, the three of us had a sleepover and we awoke to a winter-wonderland. We decided to frolic through the woods behind Tavia's house. It was such a beautiful sight because the girl I saw among the snow covered trees was the same as the girl I had left 5 years earlier. As we spent time together I saw that Kara didn't hestitate to talk with food in her mouth or plow through the snow like she was a shovel herself. She played with Tavia's dog (shoutout to Addie baby!) with reckless abandon and I recall a mini dance party in which we were both wearing aprons. She was the same kid I always knew.

It took this encounter for me to remember that some souls never grow up or grow old or grow tired or grow bitter or grow stupid. Some souls stay young and will die young. Some souls are tied, even if years and years go by and I forget the color of their eyes or what they sound like when they sing. These souls are tied to me and tug at my heart; no matter who I've become or who they've become, we are still tied.

Our short, yet wonderful encounters happened a few years ago; now she is off at university and I took my gap year in Italy and Turkey, but occasionally we tell each other sweet, personal one-liners that remind us that we still care, that we will always care. There is still music I want to share with her now and then, and funny stories that I think she alone would adore.

My favorite part about this not-so-grown-up childhood friend is her recent tattoo. When I saw it in pictures, I thought one thing "this is perfect for her". On her shoulder she has a sunflower. It is a wonderfully care-free and badass sign that Kara Thomas will always be the girl with wild hair and the girl I went to summer camp with and the girl that still loves things that are undiscovered and unappreciated by most people on this planet. Even now, when she pops up on my facebook, I see her as a wild child with a mystery about her. I see her as a girl with a boisterous laugh and a freedom that cannot be recreated. I see her as an adventure-seeker, a tree-hugger, and a peace-keeper. I hope that she still loves summer and beautiful flowers and friendship. I hope she always remembers who she is; I hope she never stops living life with a recklessness that cannot be matched by even the craziest of youngsters. And no matter where she goes or what she does, I hope she realizes that people she knew or knows or will one day know love that she will always be Kara Thomas, a little kid at heart.

*photo one taken at EYC, Kara now works at EYC during the summer. left to right: Stefanie S. Gardner, Justine Kane, Kara Thomas *photo two and three taken at Tavia's house, one of my many "second homes". left to right: Kara and Stef hugging a tree, Kara and Stef hugging eachother. *photo four taken at Tavia's birthday party, October 2008, center: Kara (pictured with my glasses, her spoon) creeping in the background: Stef (sidenote: I used to creep in the background of all pictures due to Speech and Debate at Desert Vista High School, creeping was our specialty).