An Old, yet Great, Friend

So tonight I went to go see ATS perform along with There For Tomorrow...actually enjoyed my little night out....but the best part is...........

...........getting home, logging into your email and seeing a very long email from a good friend!

Let me tell you about her...her name is Kimberly....she's an old friend from like almost 20 years ago. When I lived in Washington DC she was one of the very first friends I made. She was just a newlywed then and her husband played Pro Football for some team (I can't remember..just never cared much for football back then)...anyhow, Kim was just awesome, always encouraging and just someone who lit a room up when ever she walked in. My first time ever to New York City was with her and two other friends!

When I moved from DC back to California, I stayed in touch with her for probably two years by letter and phone. She moved to Philadelphia because her husband, Jeff, was traded to the Eagles.

Somehow, as life happens, we lost touch. As days got busy, our lives took different directions, we somehow drifted apart. I never forgot her and often thought of her through the years.

Anyhow, three months ago, I was having this strong urge to find her..just really wanted to at least see how she was......So off I went on my internet search.... Last I knew was she was living in Philadelphia...so I started there....Kimberly and Jeff Sniffen.....no luck ....so I decided to keep looking for a few days here and there...then one day I came across online a newspaper article that she and Jeff were in. However the article was for South Carolina!!! What!!!...so I read the article and it was about them opening this new seafood restaurant....After trying searching in South Carolina I came to a dead end!...

Then I thought about trying to search under her maiden name...Kimberly Chase....and what do you know!!...Lots came up...but for a Kimberly and Jeff Chase.....I was alittle dumbfounded, because I knew Jeff's last name was Sniffen...anyhow, I found a phone number in Orlando, Florida for them. I was like...."if this is them and they live in Orlando, I'm about to hit a wall"...because all those days I lived in Orlando and dreaded each day, if I had friends living there at the same time it would of made all the difference!

So one night I called the number got a voice mail. Left a message. About two hours later my phone rang...IT WAS KIMBERLY!!!! OMG....talk about luck, it was awesome!! We chatted on the phone for about two hours, laughed, reminisced, caught up. It was just like 20 years ago...she told me Jeff often thought about me as well everytime he was in Southern California.......he is now an actor!! She was more bummed when she heard I lived only 15 minutes from her in Orlando those years....that was the bummer part to find out!!

So we've talked here and there since then. Her husband does alot of acting now and can't believe it...he left football after an injury, they used his money and opened up that restaurant, that didn't go well and she said they got to over $600,000 in debt because of it. They moved from South Carolina to Orlando to start over a new life. Then like a story out of book, Jeff took Kim and their son to Disney World and this guy approached him about being in a movie..he was an agent...so from there Jeff's career turned around and he has done alot of work. He just finished last week a second 15 episodes of Days of Our Lives...you can find more about him and his acting at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153779/ Oh, before I forget, Kim told me when Jeff started acting the agent suggested a stage name, so he took his wife's maiden name "Chase" and since she never liked her married last name, she was happy to drop "Sniffen"..lol...that is how I ended up finding them. She was amazed I remembered her maiden name. Honestly if I didn't I'd probably never of found her!

So back to tonight....I got this really cool email from her. She really wants to visit with me! She is offering to pay my ticket to Orlando then from there her, her husband, her best gal friend and me go to New York City. She is serious and wants to do this at the end of September or October, because Jeff starts filming some new movie in November in Los Angeles. She is ready to buy my ticket!!

Oh and get this....to rub salt in a wound. I never really told her about why I was living in Orlando until my last email to her on Sunday....she about dropped dead she said...because she saw JETT17 perform at a fundraiser in Orlando with Joey Fatone.....I remembered exactly which show that was!!! I stayed at the Lakehouse that night, because I was over the drama at the time and about to move back to California!! Can you believe how close our lives were at that time, yet they never crossed paths!!

Anyhow, I'm just on cloud nine right now, because of her email. It just feels so good to have friends that know me, accept me and don't always try to understand me--but just love me for who I am. I got to remember that!!

So do I take her and her husband up on their offer to buy me my tickets or what?? I probably won't just yet, because I got to get back in shape...seriously!! But it would be nice and I'm thinking about it strongly!!

Anyhow, if you read this blog, sorry it was long, but I just had to tell my story about Kimberly! (Oh and Kim, if you are reading this, hope I didn't embarrass you :) ...)

Smile and goodnight!!