I wore a lot of hand-me-downs when I was little. Some I liked, and some I didn’t. One piece of clothing I liked was this striped tubetop… Emphasis is on liked.  The bands were pink and I thought it was so cool how you could put it on either way, that there was no true top or bottom.

I was probably around 5 or 6 or 7 (it’s been so long that the finer details are beyond me) when I was wearing it. I was playing outside and a boy from the neighborhood (who is now married to my old best friend from elementary school, who also lived on the same street) happened to come by. I’ll call this guy “Larry” (as in the sleazy car salesman and sidekick to Jack Tripper from my favorite show Three’s Company).

I’m not sure how or why Larry came to my house, but he did. The reason I question it is because I hated his guts (this will be explained — maybe — in a future post).

Anyway, the garage was open, and I remember Larry and I going to the side door of the garage, which led to the back yard. I remember looking down at something.

Then in the blink of an eye, two things happened: 1) He pulled down my cool tubetop and 2) Took off quickly — on my bike!

He laughed as he rode down onmybike the driveway and into the street. I tried to run after him, but I couldn’t catch up. 

I probably yelled a few not nice words as he cackled. He eventually brought my bike back. Wow, he did one “nice” thing that day. 

I promptly took my bike inside, closed the garage and went back into the house. Ever since that day, I never wanted to be alone with Larry and every time he was near, I’d be seething on the inside. We went to the same elementary and high school. In fact, both of our parents still live in the same houses from our childhood. 

When I found out he married my old best friend, my first question was “WHY?!” Every time I see his face and his name, I really want to kick him where it hurts. 

Yeah, I probably have unresolved issues. But further down the line, I attempted to get him back (again, this may be posted in the future). 

To this day, I avoid anything strapless, no matter how cute I think it looks. Recently I did buy a strapless dress, but it came with optional straps. So, that was okay.

Lesson learned: Pass on anything that can be worn as a top or a skirt.