Fun Monday - July 23

Willowtree of A Dingo's Got My Barbie is the venerable host of this week's Fun Monday challenge. WT is asking the participants, "Tell us about your best friend. Particularly things like: where you first met, how long you've been friends and why you think you are best friends." Or "Who is the TV character that most makes you want to put your foot through the screen (it must be a character, not a person in reality TV). And why."

This may be a difficult task as many people have several friends. I like to think that I have many friends and several of these friends are close. So for my best friend story, I will tell you about my friend for the longest time. I met Becky when she was 4 and 1/2, and I was 5 years old. Remember when those half-years made such a difference. I remember meeting Becky when we playing and riding tricycles at another little friend's house. When Becky did reach her fifth birthday, her mom invited me to Becky's birthday party. As Becky and I grew to adulthood, we attended the same elementary school, Frances Slocum, the same junior high, Lakeside, and the same high school, North Side, and our families worshipped at the same church, Trinity Episcopal. In the picture, Becky is the cute smiling child seated on the chair. I am the child directly to her left, the one with the straight bangs.

As a friend, Becky has always been all those things that you could ask for in a friend. Becky is smart, kind, loyal, and funny. Like all children we had our adventures. In Fort Wayne during the fifties, children as young as eight or nine frequently rode the city buses downtown to see a movie, to go shopping , or to attend church. Onetime, Becky and I decided to walk home from confirmation class instead of riding the bus. Walking apparently was viewed as not safe as our parents were unhappy with our decision to walk through some areas that were not deemed as safe. On this walk as we crossed a rickety old bridge over Spy Run Creek, silly me, I became frightened as the bridge shook and shimmied as vehicles crossed the bridge. Becky encouraged me to keep on going and maybe even held my hand as we crossed. Isn't that what friends do encourage one another. As the years past, Becky was there to encourage me through many other bridge crossings in my life.

Not only has Becky been my dear friend for many years, but her parents seemed to adopt me as another daughter, or maybe I adopted them. Becky's mom like her daughter is kind, conscientious, and supportive. Becky's father was one of the funniest men that I have known. I have fond memories of staying overnight at Becky's house. Her father would regale the two of us with play-acting either as a monster or a as famous movie star of his creation, Barf Beagle. Another important characteristic of a good friend is being able to share good times as well as bad. Becky and I have shared many good times and fortunately only a few moments of sorrow.

Two of those cherished moments of good times were our respective weddings. We even wore the same wedding veil or mantilla, which belonged to a mutual friend. When I married Daddy D in 1966, Becky was a part of our wedding. Becky married in 1970, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. Even though Becky has lived in different parts of the country first in Texas and now lives in the state of Washington, we are still in contact with each other after 50 some years of friendship. The black white picture is my wedding. Becky is the lovely bridesamid in the middle on the right. The color picture is a snapshot of Becky' s wedding. The matron of honor is me in pink.

To learn about some other grand friends or hated television characters, visit Willowtree for a list of this week's participants.