Friends and Aerosmith

Brenda, Kathy and Me (1997)

Well, I guess this is the week to go down memory lane. The problem is my memory. My friend, Kathy, pictured in the middle here, definitely has a sharp memory.  Yesterday, I posted a pic of our 20th high school reunion. She took the photo over to her blog and wrote about parts of the reunion that I have absolutely no memory of. 

This photo was shot at Brenda's house right before we headed out for our big dinner on Saturday night in Haines. I have absolutely no recollection of staying at Brenda's house but Kathy says we did, so it must be so. I have photos of Brenda's house so I know I was there.  Good thing I gave up alcohol years later ... I probably wouldn't even remember my own name by now. 

I don't really want to talk about the reunion here. It might be boring for anyone who wasn't there. I really wanted to talk about friends.  Girl friends, in particular.  I have been the luckiest person on the planet when it comes to friends in my life. I hear other women talk about their "best friend forever" as if they only have one. If you asked me who my best friend is, I absolutely could not name one. I wouldn't even want to try to list the names of my best friends because I have so many and if I left one out, it would haunt me. 

The reason I started blogging is that I have a lot of stuff rolling around in my head and I wanted to get it down in black & white while I can still remember it. Sometimes memories will bubble up about things I haven't thought about in a very long time. I'm intrigued by that. I wonder where memories are hidden in the brain ... and what causes them to move from the back of the brain to the part where thoughts are?  I digress ... once again.

So, my friend, Brenda, pictured on the left here, moved to Haines from Boston (if my memory serves me correctly) or was it New Jersey?  I thought she was just so cool with her east coast accent and wavy thick, dark hair. It must have been a huge culture shock to move to little podunk Haines, Alaska.  Here is the thing I remember the most about Brenda: she loved the band, Aerosmith. I don't know why I remember things like that but it stuck in my head.  Years after graduation, when I was living in Anchorage, Aerosmith was playing one night there. Another best friend, Mary, had gone to see them and the next day Steven Tyler was spotted going into the little espresso shop right next to where we worked. My friend, Mary, shoved her Aerosmith concert ticket in my hand and said "go get his autograph".  Really? So, I did it. Anything for Mary!  Listen, Steven Tyler is a sweetheart and he's much prettier in person. My friend, Mary, was so happy and all I could think about was how much my old high school friend, Brenda, would have loved to have been there.  Of course, Brenda would have most likely had an awesome conversation with him.  Me, on the other hand, talked about the weather. (laughing hysterically here)

Wrapping this up, now that I see Steven Tyler every single week as a judge on American Idol, I think of Brenda at least once a week. Thank goodness I can still connect the dots in my life.

I love my best friends ... the ones I know and the ones I haven't met yet.

love, susan