Time Warp

I now know what it is like to emerge from a time warp. One in which you go back in time almost 32 years and nothing has changed.  Last night I got together with my favorite high school teacher Betty and my good friend from school and partner in crime, Rob. Betty taught Broadcasting and Communications and managed our high school radio station WRSF 89.9 -Bob and I were DJ's at the station which was all Classic Rock and 80's disco except for our morning show-we were rebels and played Country Music which was coming back into vogue after a hiatus during the 70's.  Rob and I have talked somewhat sporadically via email over the years (having ownership of a Bichon Frise in common) but we haven't seen each other despite living in the same area since June of 1981.  We lost track of Betty shortly after graduating as she was laid off during district budget cuts and eventually left our school and got married and changed her name.  This past summer late one evening the "boys" and I (I was the only female disc jockey at our radio station our junior year and henceforth most of my best high school friends were male) were chatting away on Facebook and thinking about having a reunion.  To give you the Reader's Digest condensed version someone suggested we try to locate Betty. I got elected to find and contact her (of course).  It really wasn't too hard with the Internet and the fact that Nancy Drew was my idol ....the problem we encountered was that Betty had disabled the friending AND the messaging option on her Facebook page-meaning she could friend and message anyone but no one could friend or message her.  That gave us (me) the option of a). cold calling her house after 32 years or b). sending a message to her husband who had both friending and messaging enabled and who could break the news gently that she was being sought and thus saving the excuse making if she didn't want to be found.  I chose option b. because the boys were too chicken for either option and I hate phone calling people.  Shortly after I sent her husband the message Betty friended all of us - Ron, Rob, Jay, Bob and me; she was tickled pink that we had all reconnected and said she had thought about us all over the years and wondered what we were doing. We tried to get a reunion set for Thanksgiving but that didn't work  out because we all have crazy schedules and Ron lives in DC.  Betty messaged me and Bob last week and said she would be in town on the 12th and did we want to meet?  And the rest is history. Bob and I rode over to the restaurant together and on the way decided that it was embarrassing that we had lived in the same town all these years and had never gotten together. We chatted like we had never spent a day apart. We decided that when we were in high school we thought all adults were old; but that Betty couldn't possibly be much older than us.  Turns out she is 10 years older than us but doesn't look it. I thought perhaps 5. But I digress.  We ate at Cracker Barrel and Betty called us her "kids" and I said her twins and I'm sure everyone in the restaurant thought we were nut balls.  The manager took our picture and the three of us had a great visit and caught up as much as one can in one sitting, on the years past, and decided we were going to have to make this an annual visit from now on.  We laughed so much our sides ached.  It was really nice.

Here we are before Christmas in 1980.

I'm in the front row in the light pink and Betty is next to me in burgundy. Rob is in the back row (right) with a white shirt on.

Here we are before Christmas in 2012

Betty, Bob and me   

NEW FRIENDS AND OLD FRIENDS

MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD;

THOSE ARE SILVER, THESE ARE GOLD.
NEW-MADE FRIENDSHIPS, LIKE NEW WINE, 
AGE WILL MELLOW AND REFINE. 
FRIENDSHIPS THAT HAVE STOOD THE TEST
TIME AND CHANGE ARE SURELY BEST;
BROW MAY WRINKLE, HAIR GROW GRAY,
FRIENDSHIP NEVER KNOWS DECAY. 
FOR 'MID OLD FRIENDS TRIED AND TRUE, 
ONCE MORE WE OUR YOUTH RENEW. 
BUT OLD FRIENDS, ALAS MAY DIE, 
NEW FRIENDS MUST THEIR PLACE SUPPLY. 
CHERISH FRIENDSHIP IN YOUR BREAST
NEW IS GOOD, BUT OLD IS BEST; 
MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD; 
THOSE ARE SILVER, THESE ARE GOLD.

Joseph Parry