Reading Obituaries

  I just started reading obituaries.  I can remember my father and mother reading.  I never could understand it. Now here I am doing it myself.
  I saw in the obituaries that Lawrence J. Bonavia Sr passed away.  He was 94 years old.  (I am 67 years old.)  I do not remember him.  But I do remember his daughter Carrie Bonavia.  Carrie and I went to Holy Name Grade School and she was my first girl friend.  We were in the 3rd or 4th grade.  I see from the obituary that Carrie is married and her last is now Correll.  Of course to me she will always be Carrie Bonavia.
  Her father and mother had a Halloween party and I waited for my mother to get home from work.  She was going to pick me up a costume for the party.  My mother came home with a pirate costume but it had short pants.  I went in the costume. I so embarrassed that Carrie would see me in short pants.
  My love of Carrie was around 1951 give or take a year or two and I would have been 9 or 10 years old. 
  I stole a bracelet from Wards or Sears I can't remember which and gave it to Carrie.  I don't remember how much it cost.  It had what looked like a lot of "diamonds" but it was of course fake.
  Her mother called my mother and asked if it was OK for me (Jimmy) to give it too Carrie.  I do not know what my mother said to Carrie's mom but boy I was in trouble.  That was my first and only stealing.  Oh I made up a story about the bracelet.  We had just had a big flood in Kansas City MO (1951) and I said that some stuff got wet in the flood and the store gave it away because of the flood damage.  Well OK I was only 9 or 10 years old and it seemed like a good story to me at the time. 
  So I decided to give up my life of crime.  But I could not give up my love of Carrie.
  We moved away a year or two after that...and I never saw Carrie again.
  But I did talk to her on the telephone one time.  There was a TV Show called "Commander 9" on KMBC-TV (on channel 9) and kids could send in drawings and I sent in a drawing of a space ship.  Commander 9 showed it on TV and said it was from "Jimmy Howard" and I got a phone call right away from Carrie.  She saw it and heard my name and I guess she looked me up in the phone book and we talked. 
  That was the last contact I had with Carrie. 
  I am sorry to hear that her father just passed away but I am happy to see that she is still alive.  Maybe if I had not had those short pants on maybe she would have married me.  Maybe if I had not stole for her she would have married me.  Maybe if she had not seen my drawing on Commander 9 she would have married me.  Of course it could have been worst.  I did not send a drawing to the Romper Room TV show.
  First loves you never forget them.
  I wonder if she remembers me.