Paperback
-
SHIP THIS ITEMIn stock. Ships in 1-2 days.PICK UP IN STORE
Your local store may have stock of this item.
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781456756963 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 06/07/2011 |
| Pages: | 60 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.12(d) |
Read an Excerpt
My Elusive Mychele
AN EMOTIONALLY DRIVEN TALE OF FIRST LOVEBy KEN STRONG
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Ken StrongAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-5696-3
Chapter One
Nice Skates
To paint the opening "picture", I guess I must do a bit of explaining as to who I was at the age of twenty-one. I had always been a creative kid and growing up I plugged that creativity into performance art as an illusionist. I had experienced great success in performing since the age of eight and I had just landed my third consecutive summer contract for my own show at an amusement park in central Indiana. I always kept myself busy and during the winter months, where our story begins, I found myself prepping for the upcoming show season while working two jobs and remaining very active as a volunteer EMT/Firefighter for the rapidly growing community that I lived in. My full-time job had me working the night shift as a security officer for the formerly known Indianapolis "Hoosier Dome". But before I would begin my 11:00 p.m. shift as a security guard I would spend four to six hours on the ice across the street, at the Pan American Plaza ice rinks. I was head of first aid and safety at the rinks, which typically just meant I got to wear one of those cool red skate guard jackets. Most evenings were pretty uneventful; yelling at the guys in the hockey skates to "slow down", helping up those people that they had knocked down, and treating the occasional bruised knee or sprained ankle. However, it was there, on that very rink that my life would change forever. You know those moments in your life that are time-stamped and dated with every intricate detail? You can remember the place, the time, the mood, and you can retrieve and relive it all in your mind many years later? The night was February 4th during the "evening skate" session. I was doing my normal skate guard duty when a new face caught my eye. And this girl wasn't like the others ... she didn't wear rentals, she had her own pearly white figure skates I think I checked her out for a lap or two before I felt bold enough to make my move. Then, in my red skate guard jacket, I built up enough confidence to deliver that first line. I leisurely skated up close enough to engage in direct eye contact as I uttered the words "nice skates". OK, so it was cheesy, but it worked! Because I remember the exact spot on the ice that my breath was taken away as those words prompted the warmest smile I have ever witnessed. I don't remember the exact words that immediately followed. But I remember the feeling of looking into her eyes, the glow that radiated from her inside to her beautiful outside, and the sound of the sweetest voice I had ever heard as she told me her name was "Michele". Yes, that's Michele with one L. I always thought that was special, that one L. Over the next several months I would realize how special Michele truly was.
Chapter Two
Life as we knew it
So after that first night of casual conversation on the ice my thoughts were never far from Michele. She returned to the rink to skate by my side time after time, one phone call led to next, we had one amazing dinner date after another, and before long I was officially calling Michele "My"chele. I must take a moment to explain that I have an extremely creative cheesy side when it comes to dating. I love to play on words, create a personal private language, and have lots of little inside innuendos. That's one thing that struck me about Mychele, I could unapologetically be my goofy self and she loved it! In fact, we created our own little language based on my radio codes at work. As a firefighter and working in security there are a series of codes used during radio communication called "10-codes". These codes and signals involve a series of numbers such as 10-23 (arriving the scene), 10-8 (available for another call), Signal-9 (disregard), etc. It provides a way to have short, confidential, and concise communication when transmitting over the radio. So, one very slow and boring evening on the night shift, based on these 10-codes, I created a list of "Ken-Codes". These codes became our own covert language that she and I would use during phone calls around family, friends, or in public places. I can only remember a few Ken-Codes but I will never forget the two that we used most ... Signal 3 (I love you) and Signal 4 (I love you too). On March 13th I told Mychele that I loved her for the first time, and those words came from a part of my heart that had never been explored before. From that moment on I'm not sure we ended a telephone conversation or letter without a Signal-3. We rarely said the words "I love you", but relied on our own special language. After all, everybody was using the "I love you" words. Signal-3 was more than those three words ... it described that unique love that only she and I could experience together.
Another key to our unique conversation was handwritten cards, letters, & notes. Sometimes they were mailed but most of the time they were exchanged the next time we would have a Signal-15 (that's Ken-Code for rendezvous). When we met Mychele was 18, completing her senior year of high school, and I was 21. We actually lived about 45 minutes away from each other. Cell phones were in their infancy. In fact, I'm aging myself here, but I depended on my cellular "bag phone" that I typically kept in my truck. So, without cell phones, texting, or free long- distance talking, she would write me letters many times a day. There is definitely something to be said about the old-school handwritten letters. Text messaging, instant messaging, and Twitter in today's society may be convenient but it's so temporary. Those messages are forever deleted and often feel so impersonal. There is something powerful about a hand- written letter that captures that moment in time.
Letters became our only source of communication early in the relationship as she had spring break plans with a friend in Florida and my family was off for a vacation in Gatlinburg. These 10 days apart made me realize how seriously I had fallen for this girl. I had never longed for someone as much as I longed for her. I even remember that toward the end of that 10-day stretch I was beginning to doubt myself. Have you ever experienced something so great in your life that you later looked back and tried to convince yourself that it couldn't have been that good? Some rational part of my brain was trying to convince my heart that she couldn't be that amazing ... that I was just letting myself get caught up in exaggerated emotion. One thing is for sure ... during that 10 days apart I missed her dearly. She wanted me to be there, at her house, when she got home. I remember sitting there on the couch talking to her Mom when the door opened. Now, with my "head on straight", I was anxious to see this girl that my heart had fallen for. Why I had my doubts, I cannot tell you. I think I just found myself losing control of my heart and I was placing myself in a whole new level of vulnerability ... a place that I had never been before. Nevertheless, as she walked into the room, I was taken away. I don't believe life should be measured by the number of breaths that we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. This was one of those moments! My heart melted as I saw the golden glow of Mychele walking into the room. I slid my right hand along the left side of her face, gently kissed her on the forehead, and held her body close to mine as thoughts of unworthiness filled my mind. I remember thinking to myself, "How did I get the honor of holding such an amazingly beautiful creation of God so close to my soul?"
There were many moments that we spent together that I questioned my own worthiness to be with her. What was so special about me that this beautiful girl would love me back? I loved the feeling of holding her in my arms. She always said she felt safe in my arms. Mychele had lost her father at a young age and I always felt that she was somehow comforted in my embrace; not having a father to receive hugs from. I remember one night specifically that we were lying side by side on her couch watching TV. She had fallen asleep in my arms and I could feel her heart beat in sync with mine. I looked up on the wall of her living room and saw an aged family photo with her father. I was overwhelmed with the sadness of thinking that her father would never again have the opportunity to hug her ... or hold her tight. I realized how lucky I was to be there in that embrace, at that moment in time. I found myself in prayer ... thanking God for bringing Mychele into my world and for giving us something as powerful as Love in this life. I also offered myself up at that moment. I prayed that God would make it possible for Mychele's father to hold her through my arms ... that he could once again feel that embrace through me. I am not a person who focuses on the supernatural or the idea of spirits among us, but something powerful happened that night. I honestly do believe in some way, by some means, God used me in that moment. I never told her about this ... I didn't want to freak her out or to make her think I was crazy. But I have always cherished that as one of the most spiritual moments in my life.
There was something very powerful about Mychele's touch. There was this amazing warmth that I felt with her hand in mine, an indescribable electricity in her kiss. The smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, I remember it all like it was yesterday. But I also remember a couple times when that touch got us in trouble. As I previously mentioned, I was an Emergency Medical Technician and I would often use Mychele as my "patient" in practicing my patient assessment skill. As innocent as it truly was, I remember one time that her Mom walked into the living room during a "secondary assessment". I can still picture it. Mychele was lying on her back on the living room floor, I was sitting by her side on my knees, and my hands were on her bare abdomen. We tried to convince her Mom that I was just assessing for obvious bruising, injuries, or palpable masses, but she chose to call Mychele out of the room for a private consultation ... lol. Another time I recall may have been a little less innocent. Mychele had this window in her second story bedroom that was a direct access to the roof. She had figured out a way to walk across the roof and use the chimney as a ladder to descend down to the ground. As a firefighter I always though this was a great skill to practice! After all, this could be her only escape in case of a fire [??] She could even climb up that chimney to get right back in the house when she needed to. She only weighed about 95 lbs...she could climb that chimney in no time! Anyway, one night we decided we hadn't seen enough of each other that week so we planned a Signal-15 (rendezvous). It was late and she didn't want to make her Mom mad by waking her up and asking permission for me to come over. So, I drove the 45 minutes to her house and I gave her a call from my trusty bag phone when I was getting close. She made her way down the chimney and met me at the end of her road. I still remember what she looked like that night. Of course, she was in her pajamas and had her hair all pulled back for bed. I was always teasing her because she looked like a little girl with her hair pulled back. She was 18 but you never would have guessed it. Even with her hair down she only looked 16 or so. Anyway, so here she was in my SUV and we were thinking ... now where do we go? She kind of lived in the middle of nowhere and there was no good place to just go hang out. So, I got this brilliant idea to find a deserted country road and just park. I think we drove around her county for about 45 minutes before I finally found the "perfect" spot. So we kicked off our shoes and hopped in the back of my Chevy Blazer. We had barely been there long enough to get the windows fogged up when these bright white lights shined through the front windows of the Blazer ... then red and blue rotating lights flipped on. Yeah, we were busted! Of all the country roads to "park" on I chose one that was just down the road from an insomniac farmer who had called us in to the police. Fortunately we were both still fully dressed as we heard the tap of the officer's flashlight on the window. There I was, a 21 year-old firefighter who had a 16 year-old looking girl in my vehicle. I really thought we were in for it. I believe the only saving grace that night was the fact that Mychele thought to grab her driver's license before she left the house. With that ID, a lot of "yes sir" "no sir", and maybe a little bit of sympathy for a fellow emergency responder he let us go. We both thought for sure that he was going to call her house, but we ended the night unscathed. I returned her directly back home, she shimmied back up the chimney, and we held off on any further secret Signal-15's for quite a while after that.
Mychele and I really didn't need to get into any mischief to have a good time though. We thoroughly enjoyed each other's company no matter what we were doing. I remember some of our favorite moments just spent doing the mundane things in life, together. We made everything fun ... I remember one April weekend that we spent painting the stage at the amusement park in preparation for my upcoming summer show season. To be doing anything by her side was pure pleasure. We loved going to the drive-in movie theater together and I remember one time we had a date planned but, for some reason, the drive-in wasn't open. So, I improvised by hanging a large sheet in front of my garage door, and then used a video projector to play our rented VHS tape on the "big screen". We put sleeping bags in the back of my truck and had our own personal drive-in movie right there in my driveway. She always loved my creativity and never failed to appreciate anything I did for her. My neighbors though ... they probably thought I was crazy!
Honestly, now as I look back, I think about some of my antics with Mychele and question my own sanity. I would do anything to get a laugh out of her, even if it meant making a fool of myself in public. One night, while we were at the drive-in theater, she needed to use the restroom. However, she would not walk the ten car lengths to the restroom by herself. She wanted me to walk her to the restroom building and wait outside for her, regardless of how into the movie I happened to be. Seriously though, I never minded walking by her side, especially if my presence gave her an added sense of safety. Anyway, on this night, as she was in the restroom I stood outside and began to call out, in a sad puppy dog voice, "Bear Cub, Bear Cub ... where's my Bear Cub". I continued to cry out until she finally came stumbling out of the restroom blushing, but also laughing hysterically. Another prank that I loved to pull on her was my "blind man" routine. She and I would be going into a grocery or department store and, out of the blue, I would go into a blank stare and whisper "ok, I'm blind" forcing her to lead me through the store holding onto my arm and explaining everything to me as if I was a blind person. Ok, she didn't have to lead me ... but it sure looked bad to other shoppers when she just left me standing there in my blindness calling out her name. Haha ... yes, perhaps I was crazy but she loved it. She appreciated my spontaneous wit and my ability to bring a smile to her face no matter what the circumstance. I was crazy. For the first time I was absolutely crazy in love.
Mychele and I once took a road trip to a church camp in Northern Indiana where I was a camper as a kid and had since worked as a summer staffer. I loved driving my truck when she was by my side, with her hand in mine and her head on my shoulder ... there was something so perfect about it. She also loved it when I would sing to her and the three-hour drive to the camp gave me plenty of time for serenade. We spent a few days at the camp helping out along side my former staff members. Within a couple days they had all fallen in love with Mychele. You just couldn't avoid falling in love with her ... she was 95 pounds of pure joy! She knew no stranger and is probably one of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from My Elusive Mychele by KEN STRONG Copyright © 2011 by Ken Strong. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Nice Skates....................1Life as we knew it....................3
Through the Fire....................9
Senior Prom....................11
The Breaking Point....................17
King's Island....................21
Short Notice....................25
The Reconciliation....................29
The Re-union....................31
The Final Chapter....................33
The Aftermath....................37
P.S....................41