Friends forever
The pandemic of the 21 st century started in 2019 and escalated to the point that it was a major threat to the world. So many of us stayed at home. We didn’t go out anywhere, see family or friends.
After two years of not seeing my friends, we decided to throw caution to the wind.
These are folks I befriended 20 or more years ago…one at a time. We met at our favorite “watering hole” El Pueblito, a wonderful Mexican restaurant that we first started going to some time ago, but one of our friends couldn’t make it. We missed Lisa, but her husband just had to turn 50 this past weekend.
Let me tell you about Gail. She started out as my student in Adult Education. I met her after holding a meeting with employees of a plant closing who were interested in getting their GED. She had worked for the company for several years. Since she left school without graduating, she knew she would need a GED in order to get a decent job, but she was scared to death.
The thing is, she was a little bitty, feisty woman who grew up with lots of brothers and sisters and a mother who worked to take care of the family. She was hungry sometimes and robbed the dumpster behind a fast food place. She was also a scrapper and took care of herself.
She married a few times and had a couple of kids. Her last marriage worked and they’ve been together for well over 25 years now. Gail and I almost immediately hit it off and our friendship grew. I liked how she jumped in to help when we were short handed. I never had to ask her. She just saw the need and did it.
This little woman who used to cry in my office because she just knew she’d never pass the GED, did pass it and went on to become Student of the Year for the State of Georgia. Best of all, I was able to hire her as my office assistant part-time. Eventually, she became full-time and is still working at the learning center. She could retire, but I’m not looking for that to happen.
I met Melissa probably back in the early 2000s. She was from Rising Fawn and had her classes there. She is tiny, born with a back condition, but that hasn’t stopped her from working continually, nor has cancer. As Adult Education persons, we were expected to attend a Teachers’
Academy every year. We always had to put together some kind of act. One year, a group of us decided to use Madonna’s hit “Express Yourself.”
Teachers of Adult Education were notoriously creative. We fashioned aluminum foil cone “bras,” but put them over a white top. We played the CD of her song and changed the words a bit to include Adult Education students expressing themselves through education.
Melissa was the shy one and started having a coughing fit. I told her to suck it up and get on stage with the rest of us. I used my “Teacher Voice” and she took one look at me and went on stage. We had the best time!! People laughed except maybe the head of the State Adult Education Dept. No, we didn’t get in trouble, but she voiced, let me express, her opinion. We didn’t do it again, but I’ve heard some people still talk about it.
This is also where I met Joe. We fashioned him an aluminum foil bow tie and he became the leader of the girl group. Joe and I had been in plays and didn’t have a problem letting our hair down. He was so funny and through the years, our friendship grew. At our lunch, we talked about the time we had to dress in western wear. He wore the biggest cowboy hat I ever saw.
I think I may have dressed as Kitty from “Gunsmoke.” I can’t remember. I hired Spence on the spot. She was young and perfect. When she came on board, she and her husband had a daughter, Alex. I directed Alex in a children’s play when she was six.
She is in her second year of college now. Later, they had another daughter, Sam, who just now got her driver’s license. How can this be?? Spence is my daughter’s age and I love her like my own. She has the most infectious laugh.
I have to say we all had the best time at lunch. We laughed a lot and it was as if we took up where we left off two years ago. This is what true friendship is. We’re already planning to meet again soon.
I can’t wait.