Westerclamp

Our little group of friends first met Jason Schippers Dec. 30, 2004. It was a going away party for our friend Katy who was moving to St. Louis with her family. Most people in attendance were from Strategic America--a local marketing company. Our friend Chad Baker had invited this guy, Jason, to join us at the Hessen Haus. The rest is history. From that night on, we called him Skippy. In fact, it sounds incredibly weird to hear him referred to as Jason. :) I don't remember much from that night, except for a couple friends spilling red wine on me and Cherry and Skippy realizing they lived in the same apartment complex. Des Moines: welcome to the biggest small town you'll ever meet. I think Skippy tried hitting on Angela, but she politely turned him down. But I think they went shopping the next day--is that right Cherry?

Except for that night, the first time I remember spending time with Skippy was when he came over to my apartment in West Des Moines to pick Katy and I up to go to J.Crew. He needed a new argyle sweater. This is the moment I realized that those "diamonds" people wear on clothing was called something besides "diamonds." Thanks for being a metrosexual Skippy. You taught me a lot.  After Jordan Creek, we headed to Nobbies to shop for costumes for an upcoming Mardi Gras party. It was the first time the three of us would be attending and we had heard it was a lot of fun. We were completely decked out--dresses, wigs and of course lots of beds for the girls. Skippy picked up a cane--or what we called his pimp stick--and rocked a suit that night. When we showed up at the party we realized that nobody else was dressed up. But we did find a sign that night in an art studio that said "nude model." HAHA. Many good photos there!

This was the night I "earned" a new nickname. I don't remember all the specifics, but I do remember toward the end of the night sitting on a couch and thinking it'd be a good idea (or perhaps someone dared me) to touch Skippy. Well, I won't go into details of where, but he called me Westerclamp ever since.

As we all know, Skippy was the type of person who made you a better person. That is exactly what he did to me. He taught me a lot--what argyle was and finally what my college Yoga/Pilates teacher said at the end of class: "Namaste."

I can't wait to see Skippy again one day. I know exactly what he will do. He will give me a huge hug and say "Wazzz up Westerclamp. What took you so long?"

Kate