As a way to protect myself from my past, I had let the memories of our friendship fade.

I only get a hint into my neighbors’ morals and values this time of year, when the signs come out

June 15 marked the city’s first Drag Queen Story Hour, a national program that brings drag queens into local libraries to read to children as a way to expose kids to queer role models and get them thinking about gender fluidity, according to the DQSH website.

I should have told her about my first time visiting a mosque, and how a group of women embraced this stranger, guided me through the service and fed me after. I should have told her about my Muslim friends here in Spokane who exemplify their faith through kindness and generosity.

Drag Queen Story Hour started about four years ago in San Francisco with drag queens reading to children and has since grown into a national event.

I think of her this time of year and miss the laughs we had, even though our fights and disagreements seem far more fresh in my memory.