i met a girl in a cafeteria
in the basement of the YWCA
Banff, Alberta
a town curled up
inside a rocky bedscape
Castle Mountain, Mount Rundle, Cascade Mountain
mountain after mountain after mountain

side kicks
i was at a house warming party over the weekend
my partner asked if he could "take a pass on this one"
so i went alone
and sat amongst a sea of couples

my very first side kick must have been
Tara Huggins
but i've had many:
Shelley Mulessa
Jennifer Dick
Karen Jubb
the list goes on

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH,
Jackie Herman.

I met this gal in Banff, Alberta
in a cafeteria in the basement of the YWCA
a hostel
and my home

i didn't like her
it was simple
she was too abrasive

a whilst later
i was in a mall sitting on a bench
or was she sitting on a bench?
she started the conversation
because that's what she would do
and said she had just had her hair cut
i said it "looked good"
she said "really?"
i probably said yes
and somehow from here
we became inseparable best friends
and I've never had a friend like her since.
maybe it was because I was 18
invincible
stupid
carefree
honest
brave

Jackie Herman was my side kick
or I was hers
and she changed my life.

Is it wrong for me to need a side kick?

I just am not as great without one
it seems


i have walked powerfully through life
because of them


when i was at the BBQ on the weekend
i wish i had a side kick

Thank you to all of my side kicks.

You had my back, I had yours.

Love,