When we moved to Arlington Heights from Ft. Myers, Florida, in 1975, one of the biggest perks was that our block was filled with kids my age. There was Kenny and Judy next door; Kerrie and her younger brother across the street; Amy and her 3 siblings on the corner; Greg across the street; a family down the street with three girls whose names I’ve forgotten; and Mary, four houses down.

It was a street with kids and from dawn until dusk we all played together somewhere on the block.

But Mary was my best friend.

From the time my family moved onto the block, she and I were inseparable. Mary was an only child and I was the older sister to a one-year-old brother, who was not exactly the playmate my parents promised.

Mary and I learned how to ride bikes together. We played dolls and dress-up together. We roller skated. We shared secrets. We trick-or-treated together. If I wasn’t at her house, she was at mine. We even walked to the first day of kindergarten together hand-in-hand.

Mary and I were two peas in a pod. Lucy and Ethel. Laverne and Shirley. Rachel and Monica. Romy and Michele.

The summer after Kindergarten, our block completely changed. Kenny and Judy moved. Kerrie and her younger brother moved. The family down the street with with girls moved. Greg moved.

Mary changed schools. She left the public school around the corner to attend the Catholic school a couple of miles away.

We still played together after school and on weekends, but it wasn’t the same. She made new friends. I made new friends. We weren’t in the same Brownie troop.

And then the unthinkable happened: Mary’s family moved too.

She only moved across town, but when you’re six and your BFF moves, she might as well live in Timbuktu. We saw each other once after she moved. I remember going over to her house, which was much bigger than the ones we lived in. She had a playroom that had a secret play area in it. The secret play area was really just a storage area under the stairs, but it had a door and was like a permanent fort. So cool.

Christopher, who became Dave’s BFF, moved into Mary’s house. Our block of girls suddenly became a block of boys the same age as Dave.

Mary O’Brien is the first friend I remember having in life. I have a number of friends and family members who have close friends they’ve known their entire lives and I often wonder what it would be like to have a close friend as an adult who goes back to childhood. It’s not that I don’t have friends who go back to elementary school; it’s just that those friends aren’t in my inner circle and I’m not in theirs.

I don’t know what happened to Mary after that one playdate. If her family stayed in town, she either went to the Catholic high school with a number of my friends or to the other public high school in town. Although I’ve asked around in recent years, no one remembers her, which makes me think her family ultimately moved out of town. I’ve even searched on Facebook and haven’t found her. If she’s out there somewhere, I’d love to reconnect.

Do you have friends you’ve lost touch with in life?

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Tonight’s post is brought to you as part of ChicagoNow’s monthly Blogapalooza exercise when all ChicagoNow bloggers come together to write about the same topic in one hour.

Tonight’s topic from our fearless leader, Jimmy Greenfield:

Hey all,

Welcome to ChicagoNow’s Blogapalooz-Hour!

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to publish a post in one hour. Here is tonight’s challenge:

“Write about a friend or acquaintance from your childhood with whom you’ve lost touch”

Can be someone you knew for a moment, a day, week or years. Maybe your best friend who lived next door, or someone who didn’t know you but who made an impression on you. Maybe it was your best friend at camp or somebody who you only knew because they were bullied every day. Think about what the person meant to you and why you’re still thinking about them after all these years.

The point of this exercise is to do it no matter what so don’t bail. Be creative, enjoy the process. Use words, images or video. Whatever you need to tell your story.

Be aware of the time. No matter when you finish, please wait until 10 p.m. to publish. Above all, please respect the deadline.

You have one hour.

Go.

You can read other Blogapalooza posts from tonight below.

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