...... and 38 years later ..........

This has truly been a day of old friends.  Started off the day leaving my "newer" friend Chris's house in the St. Louis area and headed towards Kansas City.   A straight shot west on I-70, the reward at the end of that stretch of the drive was some good old Kansas City barbecue with a very dear friend!!!   Yeah!  Win - win!!   Pulled into the Zarda parking lot and I think I began to drool a little, but once I walked in the front door I was a goner.   Had my usual beef brisket sandwich and it was love at first bite.   Good stuff that KC barbecue!!

The guest of honor at this lunch was my friend Amy.  Amy and I have known each other since 7th grade when I moved to Kinsley, KS - a little tumbleweed down a little east of Dodge City.  The town's claim to fame is that it is the exact center point between San Francisco and New York.  I know, I know, it's a relative measurement since I am sure there are many places that claim that title, but hey, I was just going by what the huge sign on the edge of town said!  Kinsley is a town that is small enough that it has to share a school system with the neighboring small town, so you went to junior high there and high school in my town!  If I hadn't moved in 9th grade, I would have made the senior class size 34 instead of 33.

Amy and I became good friends.  She lived on a farm which intrigued me and I even remember the first time I went over there to spend the night.  I was shocked they didn't have curtains, but their comment was that they were so far away from any neighbors, who would see them!  Whoa!  We hung out, talked, wrote long notes back and forth and even watched Princess Di get married on Amy's birthday one year. But in the middle of 9th grade, we moved again, so it was time to say goodbye.   The distance and the letters got longer, but the friendship remained strong and we always kept in touch.  She was the Maid of Honor at my wedding!  As we each had our children, our lives got busy and while we might not have been in contact as much, we both knew we were always there.   So we met for lunch and before you knew it, two hours had gone by.  Just like old times, conversation was easy and the friendship is still strong.  She's one of those friends that I think I could pick up right where we left off.  It was wonderful to see you Amy and you look great!

Back in the car, it was time to head to Lincoln, NE, to perhaps the most unique reunion of the trip.  You see, Susan was my best friend when we were in 2nd to 5th grade!!!!   As you could predict by being that age, we lost track of each other, but about 7 years ago she tracked me down through one of my sisters and my sister sent me the note.   We have kept in touch since, so when she heard I was going to be coming this way, she invited me to stay with her.   Seriously?!   Haven't seen her in 38 years?  Not even sure we know why we decided to meet up again, but I am really glad we did!  She's a "happy surprise" and we talked the whole evening!  Caught up on our families and the paths our lives had taken in all of these years.  She had even pulled out a box of memorabilia and showed me a letter I had written to her after I had moved (I must have been in about 8th grade when I wrote it) and I had put as a P.S.  "The other night I made up my mind.  You are my best friend!"    So there you have it!   I committed all those years ago so I guess that explains why I am here!   It also shows that I was a writer even back then.  (The other interesting tidbits from the letter were that I had cut my hair and that we had gotten a waterbed!  Hey - you have to use what you are given to work with!).   So to any of you out there who were hoping that they could be my best friend, the roll was filled in 1974!!!

Susan's plan had been for us to find a volunteer project to do here in Lincoln, but she had a hard time getting anyone to get back to her.  Finally, we decided that tomorrow will just be a fun day and I think I am actually grateful for that.  No set time to get up and we can do what we want!  I must admit to waking up tired today and consuming large quantities of caffeine, almost to no avail.  Subdued sounds great!

So we will see what tomorrow brings!   The song I chose today is "Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters.   There are several reasons:  1) it's a song about reminiscing and looking back, which I have obviously done today!  2) I figured it was one of my few chances to get a Carpenter's song in here and 3) I love the Carpenters!!   If I had had more cajones at Karaoke night with the girls in Pittsburg, this is what I would have sung!!!   Maybe when I am back in May!    So for all of you who never knew just how high my dork factor was, now you do!!   You can listen to it or not, but it's a good song!    (Susan suggested "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold" but is that a whole real song or just a little round thing?!)    We will just call that song the honorary song of the day!

Goodnight Lincoln!