I BELIEVE – natalie gaza
we used to eat lunch together. anyway today i was thinking about one day in particular when she brought her guitar to school and said she wanted to play something for me that she’d just written. i was moved by her talent and her voice. wow.
sometimes i’d pop into her classroom in the morning and she’d have the disco music cranked up super loud and she & her special ed kids would be dancing and laughing. then i’d have to show them a few moves of my own. cause i have a few.
we always misbehaved during faculty meetings and would laugh at inappropriate times, exchange vulgar notes, and in general entertain each other as best we could. comic relief in dark times.
i think she was trying to explain worm holes & string theory to me here
our classes would mix in the afternoons and those were the highlights of my day. and then there were the “baseball” games. you haven’t laughed until you’ve taught a troop of inner city kids to bat a ball, catch, and throw a ball. she had this tall lanky boy in her class that would hit the ball and instead of running to first base he’d run after the ball. long legs and arms flailing across the concrete field. so funny! i think we eventually impressed upon him the need to run the bases. but every once in a while he’d chase that ball and throw a monkey wrench into the entire game.
anyway today is friday. natalie is in chicago. and i miss her. and i just listened to this {title of song is I BELIEVE} and got a big ole lump in my throat. because quirky funny bright shining star friends like her are hard to come by. and when they move thousands of miles away it’s kind of sad. ya know?
p.s. nat gaz if you don’t get skype figured out in the next 24 hours i’m gonna ride my horse up there and kick your skinny little arse.
I met someone today who really reminded me of you….she was on work release from jail, probably doesn’t blog and ten to one cannot legally step foot in a school….but she had your mischievous smile and rays of shiny hope out of the corners of her eyes. I miss you, friend.
Natalie
i’m sorry too your friend moved….but in some ways in the weird world that is the digital world, you are a shinning quirky star to many…
may you find a new shinny friend soon
Sorry to hear that your friend moved. i know first hand how difficult it is. my friend recently moved as well. i know you will miss her. but i am sure you will keep in touch.
You put a lump in my throat with this post. Speaking as a friend who moved away from all her friends, I’m sure Natalie feels the same way you do. Skype, phone, e-mail just don’t let her slip away!!
love the song! what talent! and so sorry for your “”loss””!!!!! dear friends are very hard to find and I am thankful none of mine have moved away!! hang in there and hoping skype helps!! hang in there with the kids too! read your other post and all I can say I know how you feel and trust me when I say it is no fun and really shouldn’t be happening!! hang in there dear!! you are right though most schools would NOT allow this to continue!! something is wrong! xoxo you!!
What an amazing song, that gal’s got serious talent. Good friends like that are hard to come by.
as a fellow teacher, i can really appreciate how much it means to have a school friend who “gets it” like you. 🙂 especially during those faculty meetings – ugh!
Absolutely love that song! Love Chicago, too. Spent some time there. It’s hard to have a good friend move away but thank heavens for skype! Thank you for sharing!
Natalie sounds awesome! She may be far away, but it sounds like you will always be friends.
Aw, everyone should have a friend like your little Nancy…
Lucky for me I have you. 8)
Loved the story, laughed out loud at the baseball part and also thinking that good and dear friends are like rare birds, they grace our lives with their beauty, songs, and just the right amount of humor to bring in the sunshine and then they fly away…to share their gifts someplace else. She’ll figure out skype just to save her hiney…I know I would, VBG!!!!!!! I’m sad to hear you are loosing a good buddy…I think she’s someone I’d want in my corner too.
As someone that grew up in Wisconsin (not all that far from Chicago) all I can say is Natalie picked entirely the wrong time of year to make this move. Winter will prove an exceptionally rude surprise.
So true – friends like that just don’t come around that often. And it seems lately you could have used a friend like that right there with you… so kick her skinny little arse anyway for moving away on you!
Thanks so much for sharing your friend’s song with us. She’s fabulous. I’m sorry she’s moving so far away from you. I hope you are able to Skype with her real soon.