Lovebirds at Bird Arena
Lindsay Crawford, BSJ '05, and Jason Ignet, BSS '05
By Jason Ignet
We met at Bird Arena in 2004. I was a lonely Olympia driver. Ironically, the emptiness of the rink at night perfectly reflected my life at the time.
She, on the other hand, was a member of the synchronized skating team. Her gracefulness on the ice was second only to her beauty, and although we did not know it at the time, cupid's arrow would soon find us.
That spring we played on an intramural softball team together. We were still strangers, but I finally learned her name -- Lindsay. We talked; at length, as we sat on the freshly cut field watching the runs stack up against us. She needed a job that summer, and she agreed to help me clean up the rink before next season.
Work started soon after, and we became good friends.
I always gave her the easy jobs, but cleaning the bleachers was a different matter.
Yet, somehow, chipping fossilized gum remnants from the grooves of the aluminum never seemed quite so bad when she was there.
I embarrassed myself for giving her a horrible, thankfully mild, chemical rash on her arms from that foul-smelling, pink aluminum shine.
She forgave me, though, after I got one too.
We connected that summer among the rink-floor paint chips, Campus Recreation van seats and Oxi-solv. We wanted to spend as much time together as possible. It was love -- I knew. That fullness of the heart and clumsy nervousness. The joy of peeling line tape, sitting close to her and the occasional touch. The sadness when she left for the day. The longing to see her, if only to watch her paint.
Every time we talked, I felt comfortable. Comfortable for finding someone that had so much in common, yet was perfectly unique. I knew that someone special had entered my life. I told her I loved her that fall. I was sure of it. She told me she loved me back. We both knew it was true.
The year flew by so fast. We graduated, and left the place that brought us together. We remember, though, how good it was. How easy. When we only lived for the moment.
Now we have to plan for our future, and that longing is back. She is at the University of South Carolina, and I am still in Ohio. Nevertheless, we are still together, and we still feel the same way about each other. She deserves nothing less from me. My love for her is stronger than ever.
If absence truly makes the heart grow fonder, then I have far surpassed that fondness. There is no way to adequately express our love for each other -- we are each other’s better half, and (to us) the world is a better place when we are together.
Our hearts are connected -- now and forever -- and there will always be a special place in our hearts for Ohio University. The place that brought us together. The place we will never forget.
Posted 11-02-07
