A Nice Long Friendship

Last night Sandy and I drove to South Yarmouth to visit old Navy friends, Maggie and Ray Risley, who had rented a house near the beach for a week. Almost everyone there had on a Club Bacon tee shirt to greet us. They have been to every party that we have ever had. Only Marnie and Allan Sylvester still fit in their Mexican Pool Party 1984 shirts. More than likely Randy Adams still fits in his also. Oh ! And both the Heberleins.

We became good friends with Ray and Maggie 45 years ago while in the Navy. He didn't even get mad at me years ago when I drove his Ford off an icy Mass Pike into thankfully a very thick snow drift while being called back to the Naval Air Station to plow the runways. Do you know where the sign is that says “highest point in elevation on the Massachusetts Turnpike?” That is where we went into the snowdrift. “Oh the Berkshires were covered in snow and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston.” It sure was that night. Every time I hear James Taylor sing that song I think of that very eventful night. Wait a minute. Is that correct? How is that possible? Yup! Forty-five years ago.

When we left Marshfield it was 93 degrees. Just before we hit the Cape Cod Canal it was down to 83. By the time we arrived in South Yarmouth it was 78. That was a 15-degree difference over a 50-mile drive.



Three out of four of the Risley kids were there with their children. Their good friend Sue Keefe was there also. Well yah, she gets Bob Mail. Shaun, Bridget and Katie did all the cooking and drink mixing. Mostly Shaun. He does much of the cooking at home too. Many of our male friends do that: Gene Spriggs, Dick Brown, John Cerri and Charles Gregory, to name a few. I cook twice a week but I do not enjoy doing it. At the Cape, we had shrimp, chicken and beef tacos, Denver style. The green peppers were killers. The green poppers were wonderful. All Sandy and I had to do was to bring dessert and pretend that we were enjoying being catered to. Boy did that feel good. All the Risleys treat us like family. They always have.



Shaun and Rachel came all the way from Denver with their new son, Flynn. Flynn was Margaret Mary's maiden name. No really, Maggie was once a maiden. I know. I was there. Trust me. We attended Shaun and Rachel's wedding in Denver. We have attended all the kids’ weddings and the next one is Katie and Ray's in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on New Years Eve. Ray and Maggie have always been there for us. When Sandy's Dad passed way too early or when Marnie was sick in the Berkshires and Maggie said, "Go on your vacation, I will take care of her."

While at Shaun and Rachel's wedding, someone at our table mentioned that the bride and groom were going to Costa Rica for their honeymoon. We asked them where they were staying and they said MAKANDA in Quepos. We love that hotel -- it is one of our favorites -- and we also gave them tips on traveling in Costa Rica. So that was a really nice connection. Last night we had another nice connection. Shaun proposed to Rachel at another favorite spot of ours, Ojo Caliente Spa, just north of Santa Fe in New Mexico. The state, not the country. And NO! I didn't take any of the potshards from the ancient ruin just above the spa. There were really too many of them anyway if I did take one or two.



We drove back late with a beautiful full moon to look at all the way home, while visions of delicious, ice cold, margaritas danced in our heads.

Alexandra and Roberto Tocino -- still having fun