The Saga of “The Kyles” and Lauren

Hey everybody!  Lauren and Fisher recently asked me to be a guest on their blog.  I am very excited about this opportunity and I feel like it’s an even greater honor than being “Best Man #3” in their wedding.  I have been brainstorming potential things that I could talk about.  I have had so many good memories with Fisher and his soontobe bride that it has made selecting a single topic a pretty difficult task.  I have decided that the best contribution I could make is by telling the story of my friendship with the two of them, starting at the beginning.

My first memories with Kyle James Fisher came during my sophomore year of high school, Fisher’s junior year.  We were both members of the Andover High School basketball team.  Andover’s basketball team could best be described as a smart group of nonathletic, white guys that found a way to play well together.  I had mixed feelings about Fisher—we played the same position and often squared off in practice.  On this team that was not known for its quickness, Kyle and I usually finished near the back of the pack when we ran sprints.  Fisher seemed to have an advantage over me when we guarded each other.  He had more experience and at least 30 pounds that he used very well.  The biggest reason I did not immediately like Kyle was because during the times we guarded each other he was almost always shirtless—guarding a 17 year old who is that hairy and sweaty can turn the nicest people against you Fisher.  That season we won our league, coming from a go-ahead three from Jarrett Tyler, a member of the wedding party.  The season ended in the sub state finals.  Fisher actually hit a three at the end of regulation over a large Turkish kid to force overtime (we ended up losing in OT though).  The time that I really bonded with Kyle came outside of the gym, however.  We had team dinners every week and the team played poker at Jarrett’s house after practice each Saturday.  Eventually I was able to overlook all of the bad/gross memories that came from guarding Fisher (the king of perspiration) everyday at practice.

After the season ended, Kyle decided to retire from the game of baseball to join me on the golf team.  The year before he joined the team I had a 79 average, something that I would not accomplish again—I blame Kyle for this.  He played in my group most days.  I had more fun with him in my group that I did the year before, but I became a much worse golfer.  It was during this golf season that Fisher and I became regulars at each other’s houses.  The Fisher’s home was probably the most welcoming environment I have ever visited.  There always seemed to be warm, fresh cookies in the kitchen and good stories, mostly about Drew’s antics.  Kyle also made a very good impression on my family, at least initially.  Fisher joked around with my family as much as I did.  I think that my mom and sister would say that his unique sense of humor has a way of getting under their skin in a way that only family can.

I won’t drag this story out anymore than I need to, but there are some highlights that I need to mention from my junior, Fisher’s senior, year. 

I have been dating Meghan Heeney for a long time.  My first real encounter with her came at a football game during this magical year.  She was a cheerleader and stood right in front of the student section during football games.  Kyle and I got her attention and requested the “D-D-D-Defense” cheer (obviously a cheer for the defense).  Heeney said something like “sure, we know that one!”  She called the cheer, not realizing that Andover had the ball.  After a few seconds of cheering, the stands erupted.  People were livid that the cheerleaders were cheering against their team.  To this day Heeney says that it is her single most embarrassing moment.  On a related note, Meghan didn’t talk to me for the next two years.

I switched to the Verizon network, the Fisher’s wireless provider, this year also.  Kyle and I decided that since we had unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes we should talk to one another as much as possible.  This reached its pinnacle when we would just put each other on speaker phone for the entire day, only taking breaks for school and church.  I would talk to Kyle when he was having dinner, and he would listen to me when I was doing homework.  We wouldn’t constantly talk, but it was actually kind of fun knowing that we could whenever we wanted to.  Our families got a little bit annoyed, and this ended after about a week.  It did, however, give me a nice preview of Fisher’s snoring.

Okay, last memory from this year.  Again, we played basketball and golf, but I have already talked about that.  As it was Kyle’s senior year, he had a very easy class schedule.  I on the other hand, was taking a pretty demanding schedule.  Fisher seemed to always find a way to make an appearance in each of my classes.  I still don’t know how he managed to get out of class everyday to roam the halls and come hang out with me, but it made the school day pass much quicker.

Our families shared a condo at Breckenridge during spring break that year.  The summer after he graduated, he came to the lake with us several times.  He also came with my extended family on a vacation to Colorado that summer.  I had my wisdom teeth removed that summer and, at Fisher’s request, he took me to Taco Bell the day after the surgery—one of the many times he has persuaded me to make a bad decision.  It was a good summer that went by way too quickly.

Fisher said his teary goodbyes to everyone in Andover and moved south into cowboy nation.  Both of us kind of assumed that we would still be friends, but knew it would be difficult to remain as close as we had been in high school.  We quickly relearned that we had unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling and the distance seemed to dissipate.  During my senior year Fisher began convincing me that I should consider coming to college at OSU.  I agreed to a visit and gave him a verbal commitment—the first major way that Fisher has influenced the path of my life.

My senior year flew by and before I knew it we were moving into our dorm room.  It was my first day at OSU that little Ms. Cromley stepped into my life.  Kyle and I ended up hanging out with Lauren and her roommate Courtney that night.  The only thing that I really remember is the girls trying to give nicknames to Kyle and me.  They decided to call me Chappy or chapstick or something unoriginal.  I vividly remember that they decided to call Fisher “Long John” (Long John Silver’s….Fish….I guess) and they thought it was the funniest thing they had ever done.  Kyle and I were not that impressed.

I guess at this point I should backtrack a little bit.  Fisher was not very smooth when it came to talking to the ladies—or at least he seemed to get stuck in the “friend zone” a lot before Lauren.  I knew that he would probably find somebody that thought he was datable, I just didn’t know how long it would take—again, he was really not smooth.  It is a little difficult for me to remember the few months at OSU when Kyle and Lauren weren’t dating.  She always seemed to be hanging out at our dorm room—she lived in the same building, basically.  The three of us spent a lot of time together, and she did not seem put off by Kyle’s unique sense of humor.  Almost from the gate, I remember telling Kyle and Lauren “you guys should just date.”  It was mostly to try and embarrass Laruen originally, but as time passed she seemed like she could be the girl that could tolerate Fisher in large doses.  Laruen and I shared a few interests, including Panda Express and tickling Kyle (it sounds weird, but it is really funny when a grown man is more ticklish than most toddlers).  During homecoming that year, the Fishers all came to town.  I said something like “this is Kyle’s girlfriend, Lauren” to them (correct me if I messed that quote up Lauren).  About a week later I went home for the weekend.  When I got back to Stillwater, it was finally official.

The rest of that school year went very well.  The three of us continued to hang out like nothing really changed—the only real difference was that Lauren cleaned our dorm more.  They have a very unique relationship in that they never made me feel like I was being a 3^rd wheel, even though I usually was.  After the school year ended I said goodbye to Stillwater and moved to Manhattan, KS (EMAW).  Again, Kyle and I continued to take advantage of our mobile-to-mobile minutes, except for his brief stint with AT&T when we were forced to talk after 9pm.  I came down to Stillwater several times, they visited Manhattan and Wichita.  A few years went by before Fisher began influencing the next major event of my life.  Last summer he suggested that I apply in the finance department at American Eagle Airlines.  This was also obviously the time that Kyle and Lauren got engaged.  I was a little hesitant because of the distance that it would place between my family/lady friend and myself.  Kyle is very persuasive though.  He pointed out that it’s just an hour flight whenever I want to visit them.  It was also a big selling point that Lauren would be down in Dallas.  This semester I had several interviews with them and recently accepted a position in the same department where Fisher currently works.  We are planning on living together for the first 5 months, before he and Lauren are married (she didn’t want us all to live together after they were hitched).  I’m very excited about the next year and am glad that I will once again be close to Fisher and Lauren.

I have considered Fisher family since my junior year of high school.  I think it’s very cool that we have been states apart for the majority of our friendship and we’re still closer than ever.  Whenever a guy gets serious with a girl, it can be a cause for concern with his friends.  In the case of Kyle and Lauren, however, it’s quite the opposite.  When I visit Kyle and Lauren I’m just as excited to see Lauren (if not more so) than I am to see Fish.  There are very few people in the world that make laugh as much as Lauren.  I consider them lucky for finding each other, and I consider all of Fisher’s friends and family very lucky as the Fisher/Lauren combo is much more enjoyable than Fisher alone.  I have known Kyle as an individual longer than I have known him with Lauren.  I can sincerely say that he is a better man with Lauren by his side.  Congratulations to both of you.