Tag Archives: old friends

The Right Thing

Dad is retired now, no, not really. He has a ballet company and restaurant in his 80’s. It is my fear that he won’t slow down, only stop. Dad, I want to see you before you say Stop.

Today I ran into the couple who hired him 35 years ago to run a non-profit organization and introduced myself as his daughter. We are neighbors, all these years later. Quel surprise! Board and The Help on the same block with great views.

We see each other on the path from time to time with our dogs and say hello, maybe 7-8 times over 18 months, most in winter garb, yes I walked on water last year talking to ice fishermen. Notice I didn’t say ice fisher-women. They’re home with another alternative for supper.

I asked them for coffee and left a note with my information. I thought that the right thing to do. I do believe in fate, however, and intuition. I can usually read things more than a mile down the road but this ball is in their court.

Sadly, in my heart I feel that people in Milwaukee, even young ones, don’t want new friends. They marry, get a house near their parents, go to the same church and close everyone out. They also try to run pedestrians off the streets at designated crosswalks, especially the one I spent six months trying to create. They blow their horns for nothing.

I hope for the right thing, that between us we can help this city. It has become difficult even to volunteer. We’ve met for a reason. Fate intervenes. Let’s roll the dice and see what happens…….. Dee

ps Wait, I don’t even have dice, or cards for that matter. Fate.

 

Auld Acquaintance

Lest they be forgot, we must mention old friends, like those who were born a continent away at the same time on the same day and actually met and became good friends. I don’t do BFF’s here, people, go to another blog.

My mentor and priest called recently, the man next to my father that I’ve known the longest (34 years) called me out of the blue.

I’m wrong on that, as my brother is 45 but I was away in college and working for years so that may be a tie.

Old friends, that is what I’m restricted to. Steven Gordon in the second grade for being the only other reader who our parents took out of phonics because we could already read so we read fourth-grade books and I went beyond, reading Death Be Not Proud and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Beverly for being a sweet and loving country gal, Debbie for sleepovers and Mary Anne for being fun. In high school it was Julie but we had other friends. Debbie (a different Debbie) ended up being fake, and our friend Mitzi, a Mormon, died in a car accident on a trip to Utah at age 16. Julie and I have been in touch again for a couple of years, through her mother’s knitting shop. We were born the same day, same time in different countries (her Dad was stationed overseas).

College. Ugh. Can one count The Swamp as a friend? I was all but their sorority sister, but Brian’s the point man here. He’s the fixer, he puts people back together, amasses groups at annual reunions and attends funerals. We thank Jerry Jeff Walker and London Homesick Blues for keeping us together all these years. Cheers and happy New Year!

Those are the oldest friends, a few of whom I’m still in touch with.