White Tea: Not Safe for Children

Bridget and I have gotten high only once.

And that time was on accident.

We were never partiers in high school. In fact, I don’t think either one of us ever drank a beer in high school that wasn’t with our parents. Even now, the only time we drink is when we’re watching a Sox game, and then only because it’s appropriate for the occasion. And don’t even get me started on pot, cigarettes, or any of those other crazy drugs some kids try (Wow, I feel like an old lady right now). We were about as straight edge as you get.

Except for tea.

Bridget and I are tea addicts. Black tea is our drug of choice, but we’ve tried every type of tea we could get our hands on: green tea, red tea, oolong tea, you name it. And white tea. Oh….. white tea.

The incident in question was in 2005. It was winter break after my first semester in college. Bridget and I had been parted for 4 whole months, and that was almost more than we can stand. She came over, and with it she brought my Christmas present. We always give each other thoughtful and meaningful gifts, and this year was no exception. Bridget got me this great pack of white tea from a small store in western Mass. Neither of us had ever tried white tea before, and we were both keen to see what it tasted like. We didn’t know anything about it except what it said on the label.

The label was very specific. It told us to heat the water until it was exactly 185°F. Then we had to brew the tea for exactly 3 minutes - no more, no less. The tea was apparently very fickle and we needed to get it just right.

We did everything the label asked of us. We even used my mom’s meat thermometer to gage the exact temperature of the water. We both thought that this was a little silly, but we did it anyway. We always do what we’re told. And at the end, we had two lovely cups of tea…

Or so we thought.

Our tea resting in our hands, we made our way into the living room and turned on the TV, looking for something to watch. It being a Wednesday afternoon, there was nothing on but Oprah and the occasional celebrity judge. We flipped through the channels until we got to HBO. There, wonder of wonders, was the greatest thing either of us had ever seen.

David Hasselhoff playing the lead role of a televised version of Jekyll and Hyde, the musical.

As we sipped our tea, we found the whole thing very silly. David Hasselhoff is not meant to play dramatic roles, especially not ones requiring a singing voice. As the show progressed (we had jumped in right at the dramatic climax), we started giggling.

Then we started laughing.

Then we started cracking jokes, which only made us laugh harder.

White tea is supposed to be caffeine free. In fact, it’s supposed to be one of the most calming of the teas, containing ¾ the caffeine content of green tea.

But for some reason it had the opposite effect on Bridget and me. Instead of calming us down, it made us hyper. Hyper to the point where we couldn’t sit still, where we were talking over one another, barely stopping to catch our breath.

Maybe the reason they call it white tea is because it’s laced with cocaine. Or maybe someone thought it would be funny to give a couple of young girls cracked out tea. Either way, we were high on something. Maybe it was life. Maybe it was the fact that David Hasselhoff can’t sing. Either way, there was something off about the whole situation.

The best part about this story, however, is that Bridget has a completely different version of it. I talked to her after I had written a draft of the blog and asked her what she thought. Her response was, “Yeah… I don’t remember any of that. The last thing I remember is taking the temperature of the water until we were halfway through the second showing of Jekyll and Hyde and downing our second cup of tea.”

To be honest, I don’t really remember much after that. It’s all a bit hazy. Bridget has a clearer recollection of certain events that occurred that night.

Her version goes like this: We brewed the tea, as I mentioned. After that, however, her memory is blank until about an hour later. She states that we had a second cup, which I believe, considering the effect of that first cup. And apparently Jekyll and Hyde was on rerun, so there were two showings of the musical in succession. We watched the end of the first, and then started in on the second.

Bridget also remembers something I completely forget. Apparently my good friend Pete came to stay at my house. According to her, it was New Year's Eve, and both my and Pete’s parents were going to a party together. Since neither Pete nor Bridget and I had any plans, his parents dropped him off at my place, only to witness the most ridiculous scene of Bridget and I high off our asses. I feel bad for him. I should probably apologize to him, but hopefully he’s blocked that out of his memory.

Pete is my oldest friends. Our mutual older brothers went to daycare together, as did Pete and I. I’ve known him since he was born (I’m older by 10 months). He must have been so weirded out by us both. I can only imagine his inner monologue during this episode, “Lord, Abby must have some weird friends. Is she turning into a druggy? How long would it take for me to walk home from here? Can I call my parents, or will they already be too drunk? I guess I’ll just stick it out, as I have nowhere else to go…”

All in all, it took us a few hours to calm down. We still don’t know if there was actually something in the tea, or if it was just us being hyper (that has been known to happen, from time to time). Still, from that day forward we swore off white tea. I still to this day refuse to drink it. So what if it’s supposed to be good for you? So what if that cup was a fluke. I won’t take my chances. There are plenty other teas in the world.

And So It Begins...

This is a story about how good things can happen when you take candy from strangers.

 

My friendship with Bridget is a third grader - 9 years old. We couldn’t be prouder. How it’s grown. Our friendship was born in August of 2000 in Logan Airport on the way to Edinburgh Scotland. Here’s the story.

My brother is 4 years older than me. He’s also a theater kid, or was, like me. The summer before my 8^th grade year, my brother’s high school drama troupe got invited to go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a huge honor. They were going to perform A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a great comedy set in ancient Greece. My parents, being close friends of the director, were asked to go along as chaperones. Now, as my entire family was going on this trip, I of course was dragged along. Poor me.

I was incredibly excited for the trip (I am part Scottish after all), but there was one slight catch. I knew no one. Sure, I knew those few guys who came over my house to hang out with my brother, but I wasn’t exactly friends with them. How can you be when you’re 13 and they’re 17? But I went along anyway. If nothing else, I would just hang out with my parents and putz around a gorgeous city. So I was totally prepared for wonderful, if lonely, trip.

At Logan Airport, I was standing in line to check my luggage. I probably had the least amount of luggage of anyone else on the trip, because they had to bring their entire set over. My parents had gone off to talk to the director and the choreographer, leaving me alone in line. There is a girl in front of me. She’s slightly older than me, but definitely not as old as my brother. I’d seen her talking to some of my brother’s friends, so I knew she was on the trip. She turned around, reached into her backpack, and offered me a lifesaver wintergreen mint.

“Would you like a mint?” she asked me.

“Sure. Thanks.” I said, not knowing if the conversation would continue.

“My name’s Bridget. What’s yours?”

“I’m Abby. I’m Jonah’s little sister.”

“Nice to meet you Abby.”

We engaged in a little more small talk, before it was her turn at the counter. I saw her a little on the plane and the various buses we took to get to our hotel. She seemed really nice, but I was so overwhelmed by being the youngest in the group, and the only one that knew no one. People were nice to me, of course, but I didn’t feel like I fit in.

Over the two weeks we were there, that slowly changed. Bridget and I became closer, as did a bunch of other people I met on the trip. I had brought a deck of cards with me on the trip (I never go anywhere without them) as well as a deck of SET cards, a logic matching game that had been my favorite since I was 6 years old. I introduced a few people to the game, including Bridget. Many of them gave up after one or too rounds (I schooled them so completely), but Bridget and I kept playing.

And playing. And playing.

We played every day during the trip. I beat her regularly, but she was incredibly good. I had to keep on my toes just to remain the champion. But more importantly, through these games we became great friends. Do you know that feeling when you just meet someone, but you feel like you’ve known them forever after just a few hours, and wonder how you ever lived without them? That’s what Bridget and I had. We just clicked. That trip made us best friends. She introduced me to everyone on the trip, and was always around when I wanted to talk. We spent almost every waking moment of the trip together, either playing SET or just talking or exploring the city.

The one incident that cemented our friendship came at the end of the trip. We had spent almost two weeks in Edinburgh, but none of us had really been allowed to explore the city, as we were constantly on a tight schedule. But one day, our chaperones allowed us to go explore the city, as long as we were back in time for call in the afternoon. Bridget and I instantly set off for the city, keen to investigate what the city had to offer. Bridget loves Scotland about as much as I do, so we wanted to see the city we had heard so much about.

We wandered about, visiting Edinburgh Castle as well as the prerequisite kitschy shops that lined the Royal Mile. But the crown jewel came when we happened upon the Black Medicine Coffee Company, a small coffee shop in the heart of Old Town. We instantly went in, as we had both discovered earlier in the trip our mutual love of tea. It was a rainy day (as so many are in Scotland) and we needed something to warm us up.

As soon as we walked in, we fell in love. The inside felt like an old log cabin nestled deep in the woods. The wood furniture and low lighting made the place feel rustic, and yet deeply homey. And they had an extensive selection of teas, which just sealed the deal for us both. We sat at a table and just talked and talked. We talked for hours, about everything. The fate of our friendship was sealed at that moment. We would be best friends forever.

Soon we realized that time had slipped away from us, and we rushed back to meet up with the group. But both of us realized that something special had happened at that coffee shop. A lasting friendship had been formed.

Throughout nine years, with it’s many ups and even more downs, we’ve been best friends. We’ve stood beside each other during love, heartbreak, triumph, disappointment, travel, loneliness, and joy. Our friendship has spanned 3 continents as we both have gone abroad for college and grad school. But no matter what, we’re still best friends. When we see each other, even after long absences, we pick up as if we’d seen each other the day before. We’re always there for each other, no matter what.

This blog is a dedication to our friendship, our stories, our hopes and dreams, but most of all, each other. I hope you enjoy reading.

 

-Abby