The First of Many ... ... .. .

June 17, 2026  | Wednesday  |  7:19 P.M.

                              My Firsts

☆ First Friend

My very first friend other than Bobbie & her granddaughter was a neighbor girl named Renee. Her parents were really great friends with my mom when we lived at 1101. I don't have any memories of her, but I do remember that we always played together. In my box of memories, I know that she was my very first friend outside of family in life.

My very first best friend that I have memories with was a tall, skinny blonde haired girl named Danielle. We met in either headstart or kindergarten. She was extremely kind to me. We met one another when we were maybe 5 years old. We attended an elementary school together that was on The Federal Way Hill, but still in our city's school district. (Auburn School District #408). Then, we both began attending school together at Dick Scobee Elementary School, too. I was surprised, shocked and happy that we were both at Dick Scobee Elementary School together.

Danielle was really really pretty. She was kind. She was like me in way, because we both weren't extremely outgoing. She was a lot taller than me. Her hair was really long & I think my hair was short at the time. It's hard to remember being 5 years old. I don't have many photos from my childhood. 

I have this memory of the both of us at  school during recess walking together outside. Huge trees all around the school & playground. There's two monkey bars in the sawdust a short distance in front of us. The swings off to the right of the monkey bars. We were running out to recess & we stopped at that spot & began to walk around. All the kids ran outside from class at the recess bell! If you ever see this, Danielle, you are the best, best friend ever. 🥰🌹💜🥰🥰🥰

☆ First Love

The person who is most important to me & who always has my unconditional love is my mother, Marlene aka Grandma Monkey 🐒. Then, my entire family. ❤️🤍🖤🌹🌹🌹🌹

When it comes to romantic love, the person who I first opened up my heart to was a beautiful person by the name of Marty. We met in Vancouver, Washington when I was 15 years old. We established a strong friendship from day one. 🥰☺️😇

We always had this strong love & respect for one another, but we never had an opportunity to be together. Our lives were always moving in different directions. But, we both still had a great love for one another. 

I'd stop by his Rez to visit him & say hi whenever I was passing through his hometown of Oakville, Wa. No matter where he was, he'd always take time to visit me. He'd hold me close when we hugged. And, when I had to leave, he'd tell me that he loves me & misses me. And, he wouldn't want to let me go as we hugged. Those far & few in between moments that we saw one another were small moments in time filled with great love. 

When he committed suicide, it destroyed me. It filled my heart with a galaxy of pain. I had been away at college off & on in Santa Fe, New Mexico since the year 2000. I was home between semesters. When I got to Oakville, Wa. I saw his dad, Julius.💔😢💔😭💔😥 He was completely broken. I call him Dad Julius.

"I tried to find you. For a long time I tried to find you. My son loves you." He said through tears. "A lot of people tried to find you. I thought you could save him." He let out a loud scream & cry after he said those words. I gave him a hug. He then proceeded to sit down on his chair. 

We all lost Marty that December. 😢💔😥💔😭💔 I didn't know that Dad Julius & others in his family were trying to find me. 

☆ First Record/CD Bought

I don't remember what my first CD was. But, I would guess it was -

Digable Planets, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)

TLC. Oohhhh On The TLC Tip

Keith Sweat, I'll Give All My Love to You 

K-Ci & JoJo, Love Always 

The Love Jones Soundtrack album

MISTA, Blackberry Molasses Organized Noize Re-Mix 

I definitely had a lot of CD singles, too. But, those are the main CD's that I remember

☆ First Foreign Holiday

I don't think I ever celebrated a foreign holiday 

☆ First Job

My very first job was being a Teachers Assistant at our tribal headstart summer school program. I was 12 years old. It was a really fun job, too. 

☆ First Car

☆ First Concert

The very first concert that I ever went to was #NKOTB the New Kids on The Block. A group called Immature opened up for them. My sister Chubby brought me & one of my friends. I don't remember the concert much except for walking along a long crowded road to get to the concert venue & then seeing Immature on stage performing. 

I remember walking & hustling through traffic more than anything! LoL! I don't remember how old I was. I was definitely in elementary school though. 

☆ First School 

I have this memory of being 4 years old. I was on a school bus, or van & we pulled into the front yard of my Uncle Ben's white house that was directly across from my Grandpa Art's house. 

My Aunty Chick was standing there with my first cousin Art. He was quiet. Extremely shy. His hair was in two braids that went just past his shoulders & he seemed nervous. 

When he got onto the bus, I motioned for him to sit next to me. He did. I didn't know that he was my first cousin at the time, but, I still had this innate feeling that we were family. We were on our way to our first day of headstart up at tribal school. Or, maybe that's what I tell myself & it was months into the school year. I don't remember. But, I do have that specific memory of us pulling up into their driveway in front of their white house & picking up my cousin/ brother, Art.

☆ First Kiss

☆ First Teacher

I remember being in school at tribal headstart & some of my teachers was Teacher Kathy. As a little girl I didn't know that many of my teachers were family members. She was an older cousin. 

☆ First Taste of Alcohol

The very first time I ever drank I was 12 years old. I was on The Rez. There was this huge cement box of a bathroom & I was there with some people who were cousins of mine, but I didn't know it at the time. It was at The Ballfield. 

My cousins were older teenagers & I had just moved in with them a few weeks prior. There were 3 or 4 of us. I don't remember exactly. They had these 40s of St. Ives & one cousin in particular was extremely mean to me. She kept hollering at me to drink or else she was going to beat me up. She was around 3 times my size & I was still really skinny & small in comparison. And, I had never been in a physical fight, ever. Not like that.

At the beginning, we were all laughing & talking inside the bathroom. They didn't inform me that we were there to drink when we got there. It was night. Inside the bathroom, the bathroom stalls were on one side of the cement building & in the area where we ended up drinking, it was a huge open space. It was like an empty living room with no windows. 

The bigger cousin brought out the 40's & took a drink. Then, the other person there was extremely tall, skinny & had long, curly black hair. They were passing the 40 back & forth. Then, the bigger cousin walked over to me & shoved the 40 in my face. "Take a drink." She told me. I shook my head no. "I'm going to kick your azz if you don't drink." She screamed at me. Then, she forced the open bottle into my mouth & tipped it so the beer would instantly drain into my mouth. 

She did that a few more times & I blacked out soon after. I don't remember what happened, but when I woke up the next day I was extremely hungry over. I was really sick. I was mortified and completely embarrassed. Another person who was there informed me that after we left the bathroom at The Ballfield we went over to the bleachers & sat down. I was completely blacked out. When I sat down, the 2 girls had me sit on the top bleachers & when I stood up to move they shoved me off of the top bleachers.

I woke up the next day in excruciating pain. I was hungover. I was throwing up. And, I was devastated. I was mortified. I was embarrassed & I had no idea what happened. The other person there, she told me that I was tossed & shoved off of the bleachers at least 3 times. When we were in the bathroom, after I was forced to drink the 40's of St. Ive's with them, I blacked out. We were in there a short while that I can remember. And, every single time I told them no, the 2 of them would jump me & beat up. 

It wasn't a great experience. I wish I could say it was something that my friends & I did together. Sneaking into the liquor cabinet & getting drunk for the first time! But, that wasn't my experience.