Getting together with old Friends

[Suey73]

Yesterday I made a quick trip back home.   It was not a happy occasion.  The death of my best friend's  dad.    BF  now lives in Maryland.   We were two farm girls that bonded on the school bus.     We part of a group in our class  of 7 girls.   For a short time yesterday  5 of us were at the visitation.    As we stood in line for the visitation 4 of us couldn't remember the last time all 7 of us were together.   3 live in the area,  I'm 2 hours away.  1 in New Jersey , 1 in Maryland and 1 in Montana.   We litterly could not remember whose wedding we did attend 40 years ago.   I came home and went through the wedding album and scanned a picture of my wedding where I can document 6 of us.     It was just like old times.    We are getting together this summer in St. Louis to celebrate our 60th birthdays.    3 of us will already be 60.    If you haven't touched base with old friends  do it.  Like I told my friend.  It's what friends do. 

On a side note.   There were only 28 people in our graduating class  but we were the top 7.  The class ahead of us had  girls as #1 and 2.   Class behind us had a girl has #1.   I never understood this  "girls are smart"  thing. 

[Kay/NC]

Glad you had a chance to see old friends, but sorry for the circumstances. This seems to be mostly it, when we reach a certain age, congregating at funerals.
Mike and I have agreed that we cannot even do much of that, because I just cannot handle it anymore, as I explained here this winter, after his cousin's funeral. I hope friends and family can accept that....

Hope you girls get to enjoy the reunion this summer. It sounds like a wonderful thing.

As for the " girls are smart" phenomenon, our class had three girls on top, but the one ahead of us had a guy who only missed like three things on the SAT. I think women are easily as smart as men, but in our youth, it was something many hid.

Even when I was out teaching in the 1980s, there were studies about girls from middle school age on " dumbing down" their academic achievements. I will never forget the one girl who said, " Ain't no way!"

Do you ever feel that you still do this to sone extent...maybe with your husband? Mike has always deferred to my intellect, and uses me like his walking encyclopedia, but I feel I sometimes (often) have to float an idea like a cloud, and hope he looks up and thinks it is his idea. Is that just us?m

[Suey73]

I've told many smart girls.. "Don't you every dummy down for some boy,   If he can't handle the fact that you are smarter than he is then he is not the right guy for you"     

[Kay/NC]

Good for you!  The hardest place for me to "play dumb" was on the basketball court.  When you grow up playing with the guys on the weekends, you know how to work your skills around their bigger, taller bodies. 

When some guy who wasn't in our usually circle showed up, it was tough to take a short stack like me stealing the ball.  I am pretty sure that cost me a few dates. 

Mike and I agreed way back, that I won't ask him to play basketball, and he will not expect me to play cards. He grew up sitting in on setback hands with his folks at card parties, and I have zero card sense.  He is ten inches taller, but can't dribble worth a darn.