I only recently found out that Kathy had passed away in 2022. She probably wouldn't have remembered me because our greatest interaction happened at Poupard Elementary School. We were in the same first and second-grade class together. For some reason, when I first met her, I was immediately smitten. She was my first schoolyard crush! I took every opportunity to spend time with her at recess and ended up walking her home, up to the bridge over I-94. (I had to take the bridge to go home and she didn't.) In second grade, (I think), I was determined to kiss her! Kathy was waiting outside the school doors to the school and I walked right up to her and planted one on her lips. She was my first schoolyard kiss! Kathy looked stunned when I pulled away, but you know how those "seven-year-old hormones" are. I was never braver. I believe that it was at the beginning of third grade that I found out her family had moved away. A teacher said that she thought they'd moved to Chicago. She was gone. Chicago seemed so far away. And that...was my first schoolyard heartbreak! Years later, in high school, I heard her name mentioned but I figured that it couldn't be her. I was wrong. I saw her walking in the hall and recognized her immediately. She was beautiful! And as I was pretty much a nerd, she was way out of my league. I got to talk to her one last time when gym class was teaching the basics of slow dancing. (Yeah, I made sure that I was close to her when the teacher told us to choose a partner.) Kathy was graceful, kind, and a forgiving dance partner. I never saw her after that year. I didn't attend the early reunions of our class. I heard that she'd gotten married...and that was that. However, I did attend the 50th anniversary, and I had planned on talking to her about my crush. I looked for Kathy but didn't see her. Considering the date of her passing, she may have been too sick to attend or I may have just missed her in the crowd. I guess I'll never know. Kathy will always have a treasured place in my memories.