The Red-haired Girl

At some time in my adult life it became apparent to me that I had a certain affinity for redheads. Ladies with flaming red hair tend to catch my attention like no other. My gaze sometimes borders on leering I'm sure, but I can't help it. I think that it probably has something to do with a girl I went to school with way back when.

See? How could I resist her?

From first through sixth grade, Brenda Lewis was in all of my classes. There was something about her that I fell in love with. She was not a very outgoing girl, but she wasn't really a shy girl either.  She was always in clothing that looked to be homemade or maybe second-hand, but she was always very well put together.   She was always very well groomed, and her pretty red hair always shone. That tells you that she was a girl that was being raised with good sense and practical values. She had such a cute smile! Like me, she started wearing glasses all of a sudden, and like me, her glasses were goofy looking. Unlike mine, however, hers were stylish. I think what made us goofy-looking was that we were little kids wearing glasses. I know for a fact that I made fun of her glasses because that's what boys do. Who was I to poke fun? After all, I had them too. She had a toothy grin and the cutest dimples! I can still see her face. I seem to recall one of her front teeth having a chip in it. She probably played hard like I did. I had a serious crush on her and I'll bet she never knew.  I'm sure I punched her and pinched her and made fun of her like all boys in love do.

Moving away from Algona after 6th grade caused me to completely lose touch with all of my old classmates from Algona.  They all attended Olympic Junior High School a the south end of Auburn while I attended Cascade at the north end.  We didn't have ways to stay connected with each other like we do now.  Brenda moved more than once during that time and ended up leaving the area completely.  I tried to find her many times over the years--usually when reunion time came, but never had any luck.  It's much harder with women because of the fact that they adopt their husband's name when they marry.  Now during the quest for fellow graduates of the Class of 1974 at Auburn for our 40-year reunion, we have Facebook in our corner rooting for us.  Finally, after all these years, Brenda has been found!  We haven't met each other yet but have yakked several times via computer.  Her beautiful red hair has been replaced by gray, and my once-brown hair is close behind.

Inside we're still the same little kids we were over 40 years ago!