TOP OF THE WORLD
I was 14 years old and in 9th grade
at Canyon Creek Christian Academy, the same school I had been attending since I
was in 6th grade, when I saw him from across a crowded room. It was the boy I was going to marry and spend
the rest of my life with. The only
problem was, I didn’t even know his name; he was new to school. He was tall, with short dark hair and olive
skin. He was wearing high watered gray corduroy pants. I nudged my girlfriend
standing next to me and said, “See that boy over there, I am going to marry
him.” She just looked at me in disgust
and said, “He’s a geek!” It didn’t
matter to me. I knew without a shadow of a doubt he was to be my life’s partner.
Immediately, I started asking questions. I found out that his name was Tracy. Now that I new his name, I could write him a
“welcome to our school” letter. I took
out my pen and a piece of paper and began to write, “Dear Tracy, Hi! My name is Martha. I think you are the cutest boy in the whole
school…..”
After my best friend gave that first note to
him, Tracy and I continued passing notes to each other. I found out that he didn’t’ have a girlfriend
and that he had an older brother. We
were becoming fast friends. Two weeks
after he received my first note, he called me on the phone. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was on a Tuesday, the day I had flute
lessons. I had been outside riding my
bike, and when I came home, my Mom told me I had missed a phone call. She told me that the boy didn’t leave a
message, but that he would call back. I
stopped dead in my tracks. “A boy? Are you sure it was a boy, Mom?” She assured me it was a boy and that he said
he would call back. I ran to my room,
took out my flute and played it while I waited anxiously by the phone.
Time was flying by, and it was time for my flute
lesson. There was no way I was going to
miss a phone call from a boy for my flute lesson, so I called my flute
instructor and told her I was sick and couldn’t make it. Then I continued to wait by the phone. Soon enough, the phone rang. I let it ring 3 times so I wouldn’t look too
anxious; then I took a deep breath and answered, “Hello?” The voice on the other end was deep and
nervous, “Hello, May I speak with Martha?”
My heart stopped! I took another deep
breath and replied, “This is she.”
That first phone call lasted several hours. He told me about his family. I told him about mine. Then he told me something that blew my mind
away. He described the colors of a
country sunset. He told me what the
roses smelled like at Tyler State Park.
He described the beautiful things that could be found in nature. This was totally different than any other
conversation I had had with a 14-year-old boy.
I knew he was special!
Our phone calls and notes continued on a daily
basis for two weeks. Then one day, he
called me and he asked me out on a date. He wanted to take me to Six Flags over
Texas. I was so exited! The only problem was that he wanted to go on
Sunday, the day I go to church. I went
to the other room to talk to my mom. I
dropped to my knees folded my hands under my chin and begged, “Please,
Mom! Please! Tracy asked me on a date to go to Six Flags
on Sunday. Please, let me skip church
and go. I promise I won’t ask to skip church again.” She thought for a bit, and then she gave me
her approval. I ran to the phone and
accepted the offer, and we made arrangements to have my parents drop me off at
his house on Sunday Morning.
Sunday morning, October 23, 1983 came. I jumped out of bed and put on my purple
pants and purple, pink, and yellow striped blouse. My parents drove me to his house and waited
outside while I brought him to them to introduce him. My parents didn’t ask him a million
questions; they just told us to have a good time. After my parents, drove off,
we went back into his house. He had not
finished breakfast yet, so his mom offered me a bowl of cereal. The last thing I was going to do was eat in
front of this boy, so I politely declined the offer.
Soon, we all piled into his 1973 two-door white
Cadillac. His parents were driving. He
sat behind his mom on the passenger’s side, and I sat behind his dad on the
driver’s side. We were plastered to
opposite sides of the car and not saying a word to each other. We couldn’t even look at each other! His mom, in all of her wisdom, kept turning
around and saying, “For two kids who talk non-stop for hours on the phone for
days at a time, you two sure are quiet.
What’s wrong?” All I wanted to do
was crawl under the tires and have the car run me over. And I am pretty sure Tracy felt the same way.
Finally we arrived at Six Flags, and thankfully,
it was decided that we would go off on our own.
It was a beautiful autumn afternoon.
The sun was out, and the air was cool and crisp. All around us, people were laughing and
talking. This was my first real date,
and I considered myself lucky it was with the boy of my dreams! He was so cute, and I couldn’t believe I was
there with him.
Every once in a while our hands would bump into
each other’s while we walked. And
sometimes, I think he even meant them to bump and touch. A few hours after we arrived at the park, we
rode a ride that required us to straddle the bench seat we were sitting
on. Tracy got in first, then I sat in
front him, and he shyly put his arms around me.
From that moment on, our hands were always locked together. My heart could not have been happier. Finally, the moment came in which I knew he
felt the same way about me as I did him.
We were standing in line for the Spinnaker. There was a sense of excitement in the
air. All around us people were laughing,
lovers were in each other’s arms kissing and children were begging their
parents to let them pick the next ride they were going to ride. I watched anxiously as the crowd passed by,
and I tried earnestly to forget my nervousness.
A child tugged at her Daddy’s arm as she ran ahead to their next
destination. A line formed at the cotton
candy cart, as our line moved forward a little more. In my ears, I heard the heavy beating of my
heart. When I stole a glance at Tracy,
the butterflies in my stomach fluttered.
We stood silently in this line. It amazed me that two people who could talk
on the phone for hours could not even muster a word when placed face to
face. The silence was as thick as mud;
then suddenly it was broken. In a
horribly out-of-tune pitch that only a boy with a changing voice could muster,
I heard Tracy begin to sing:
Such
a feeling’s coming over me.
There
is wonder in most everything I see.
Not
a cloud in the sky.
Got
the sun in my eyes.
And
I won’t be surprised if it’s a dream.
I laughed to myself.
I was almost embarrassed; how could he be singing in public with THAT
voice? I had no idea what song he was
singing, but I figured anything was better than the silence. He continued singing:
I’m on top of the world
Looking
down on creation.
And
the only explanation I can find
Is
the love that I found
Every
since you’ve been around.
Your
loves pt me on the top of the world.
Then it hit me: He
loves me! He was feeling the same way I
was feeling. Just being close to him was
a “high”. I had never been as happy as I
was right then. I loved him; he loved
me! Life was good. My heart began beating faster as he looked at
me and finished the song:
Something
the wind has learned my name.
And
its telling me that things are not the same.
IN
the leaves of the trees,
And
the touch of the breeze,
There’s
a pleasin’ sense of happiness for me.
There
is only one wish on my mind.
When
this day is through,
I
hope that we will find
That
tomorrow will be
Just
the same for you and me.
All
I need is mine if you are here.
I’m
on top of the world
Looking
down on creation,
And
the only explanation I can find
Is
the love that I found
Every
since you’ve been around
Your
loves put me on the top of the world.
Well, thousands of tomorrows have come and gone,
and things are very much the same. “Top
of the World” by the Carpenters became “our song.” It tells exactly how we felt back then and
still do today. Almost 20 years and 3
children later, we are still very much in love and on “Top of the World”!
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