As Time Passes By, I Realize...

I went to the funeral of one of my dear friend's parents today. She was one of my many "Running" buddies in high school. I haven't seen her in over thirty years but we have kept in touch through cards, letters and the Internet.

Another of my "Running" buddies was there as well and it was a bittersweet reunion.

Some friends from high school fall by the way side. Others stay in your heart forever...these two girls fall in that category.

One of them I was on the cheer leading squad with, the other I was in the band with. Boy, did we have some good times!

In the words of my 14 year old daughter "OMG."

Thursday night band practice on the football field, Friday night ballgames, Saturday night Rolling parties. We rolled probably two yards a night. We got caught a couple of times but usually got away clean...til we cranked up my friend's mustang with the cherry bomb mufflers (that generally gave way who we were.) There were about ten of us that were all close. Some were seniors, some juniors, I was a sophomore when we all first met and started hanging out...but we were all equals when we were together.

Our favorite hang out was McDonald's on Main St. There was a former police officer from our home town sitting in front of me at the funeral today. As I sat looking at the back of his now balding head, I wondered how many times he had to run us off from McDonald's...they always tried but we'd just circle the block til they left and resumed hanging out.

This was back when the world was a much safer place and Underground Atlanta was still "underground." We'd go to "Broadway", "The Mad Hatter" or "The Pump House"...nightspots in Underground, back when the drinking age was eighteen (what were our law makers thinking?) "Penny a beer night" (what were bar owners thinking?) Of course one Hurricane and you'd be done for the night. It was just fun to go hang out in downtown Atlanta. Our parents would have had a stroke if they knew about some of our antics, but it was basically good clean fun (except for the few fake ID's required) and thankfully we all survived without any major mishaps.

Today is a different time and a different world.

I often think of how lucky I was to grow up in the seventies.

Building homecoming floats, rolling yards, bonfires and pep rallies, powder puff football games and school dances (complete with the disco ball.) We were good kids (except for the Underground thing) and we all knew what morals and consequences were. None of us were into drugs, we were into high school and each other and having the most fun we could.

We were all lucky to have parents that loved us, came to our games and dances (maybe THAT part we didn't like) and raised us all to be pretty decent kids...and thanks to them we all seem to have turned out to be pretty decent parents.

Heaven seems to filling up with a lot of our parents...my mom has been there for over thirty years, my dad for six, several other's have passed as well.

Today they were joined by one more. They must have quite a Booster Club going up there!

It was sad to see another friend lose another parent, but quite heart warming to see old friends from the past even if was for a funeral. Her dad lived to be 87... that ain't too shabby.

When I put my arms around my friend today after the service, I felt just as much love for her as I did when I was in high school.

You know what is crazy? None of us look like we are ole farts, none of us look like we should have kids in college or out of college or kids in high school.

We are still the same old girls with the same love for each other that we had over thirty years ago.

That, in a nutshell... is the meaning of true friendship.

"Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other one's GOLD."

Thoughts and prayers out to my friend and her family...thanks for letting me be a part of your life and for making mine all the richer.