Thelma and Xaviera Ride Again

The sun finally came out today, it's gotten very windy again, and for the first time in a few days the forecast does not include sleet and freezing rain. While on the way to the gym (only about four miles from our home) yesterday, I drove through areas that just looked wet, and then ten yards down the road all the trees and bushes sparkled with thin coatings of ice. The heavier coatings of ice do the most damage. After the ice storm occurs and then begins to melt, the trees' limbs snap off and it sounds like gun and cannon fire. I'm glad that didn't happen this time as it's really frightening. We have gotten off prettily easily so far, but will see what the rest of winter brings us.
Well, I made it to my lunch with Roberta and we, as always, had a great time. Chris, another one of our 'gang' from the middle school joined us. We laughed, we cried, we shared fried oysters. One of the things we talked about was the names we had for each other. I was Thelma Clapsaddle and Chris, our librarian who made all the boys drool, was Xaviera Bundersnatch. We couldn't remember what Berta's nickname was, although when we went out, she liked to tell people her name was Vickie. We talked about the time that our group (minus me this time --there were about eight of us and at the time I might have been the only one married) dressed up for Halloween as the Farkle Family (this was a "Laugh In" feature, I think) and showed up at the house of our principal, Mr. Brumbaugh, an older, statesman-like gentleman who surprised them by asking them all in for a drink. Mr. Brumbaugh (we NEVER called him by his first name; never even considered it) and his wife had the distinction being in-laws with Gerald and Betty Ford as Mr. Brumbaugh's daughter married Ford's son. It was shortly after the wedding that Nixon resigned (1974) and Ford became President and the newlyweds, on their way to New England, I think, found themselves surrounded by the Secret Service. But again, I digress.
What is really amazing is that a core of us are still very close. We worked hard together, we played hard together, and we laughed really hard together. When we gather now, nothing has changed -- (well somethings have (a few of us are grandmothers, for instance, and none of us look exactly the same -- (gravity sucks)) -- but the bond is still there, as is the laughter, the loyalty and the love we have for one another.