Shaken From The Past

Recently in the local news, there has been a lot of talk about a double-murder in the mid-sized town where I grew-up.

Two women were found dead – one had been stabbed in the neck, the other was found hanging, bound and tied.

When the newscast mentioned my hometown, I immediately paid closer attention. Then the shock and horror sunk in. Hey! I know these people!

I went to high school with Julie Crocker and Chris Little – Julie and Chris were high school sweethearts. They started dating while I was in high school and later in life, got married and had two little kids.

Julie was one of the murder victims, and her husband has been charged with both murders.

Julie was in my grade 10 accounting class way back in high school. I remember her clearly, she sat one row back and right across from me.

Chris I actually knew quite well back in high school – he was in my year and he was in the drama club when I was in that club. We even did some skits together.

Apparently, Chris and Julie were in the process of separating – their marriage had floundered and they were now living separate lives. Julie was even dating the ex-husband of the second murder victim.

I hadn’t talked to either Julie or Chris in a very, very, VERY long time. Not since high school most likely.

But to hear about two people I once knew, one now in jail, the other dead, was still very disturbing. It made me think about the past, and wonder about the future.

High school is so very long ago, and your head is in a very different headspace while in high school. But when you think about, you spend more time in high school than the average person spends at one employer. High school is usually about five-years. Most people spend only three-years at any one employer, before moving on to a bigger pay cheque elsewhere.

So, when you spend that long in one place, the people around you become special. Even the ones you just vaguely associate with as you pass them by in the halls.

I guess that’s why I’m still feeling uncomfortable about my old high school buddies. I didn’t hang out with either while in high school. One was in one of my classes, the other a club I belonged too.

Still, as I sit here and think about their images on the evening news, I can remember back to those days long ago, when Julie sat across from me in grade 10 accounting, and Chris and I hammed it up in drama club.

Spooky thoughts, of happier days gone by.