Dumpster Buddies

Somewhere between 1995 and 1996, a specific chain of events took place that wouldn't have a full reaction until later in 2008. This is one of those things I vaguely remember, but thanks to recent events, it's all become a bit clearer.

So what kind of events did start back in the 90's? Well, it's obvious that as a kid, I was bullied for basically being a strange kid. It's just the way of the playground, nothing unusual there. But in one particular day, I got tossed into the trash by some bulles. And it was at that moment, that my life was about to change.

"They got you too?" said another kid in my same situation.

"Yeah," I replied. "I hate these bullies."

"Then come with me. I know a place where they won't find us."

"Where?"

"The library"

It was a moment of pure genius. I had never thought of hiding in the library, and suddenly this kid comes into my dumpster (or did I stumble into his?) and finally offers a sanctuary. How could I pass it up? And so, I took the kid's offer and joined him at the library. And every day since then, we would just sit down and read comics during our recess. Not just that, we also had a third student seeking shelter, so we all became friends in a way.

Flash forward to 97, I had to change schools. While my best friend JC and I did indeed stay in touch, I did lose contact with my library companions. It was very unfortunate, because I would later block out most of the 90's from my memory.

2008 comes around and I've joined a new group of misfits. However, something felt a bit familiar about two of these friends. And once I hear the name of the school one of them came from, I started connecting the dots. The next day, we brought photos of our classes from 1996 to see if we could find each other. I quickly found them both, not even realizing that those kids I had picked out from the picture were standing right in front of me. And then it was their turn, I was found on the spot.

And just like that, I had reconnected with old friends. And what makes the chain of events epic, is that the kid in the dumpster turned out to be Ace, one of my best friends ever. So if it weren't for those bullies who shoved us in the same dumpster, chances are we wouldn't have had such a history.

It's also funny to tell others the story of how we met. Ace just puts it as simple as possible. "Easy," he says, "we both got shoved into a dumpster and found each other."

If that's not a precursor to a good bromance, then I don't know what is.

Somehow, I know I can relate.