I found a picture of us girls when we were young.
Incredible that we were ever that age!
Dancing on the beach, daring the sun.
Chasing sea foam and winning.


Remember when I spilled the ice tea?
Laughing so hard it tumbled,
All over you, drenched in sweetness.
Weren't we beautiful then?


Our beauty is still there, hidden a bit it's true.
With wrinkles and bumps here and there.
We dance slower now and
The sea foam wins more often.


But we still laugh louder than the sea gulls.
The jellyfish leave us alone.
All the things we have learned over the years
Make us more beautiful than ever.

We may not always agree
On clothes and diets and stuff
And where to vacation - by the sea
Or in the mountains where things are rough!


But if there's a time when we're in need
A word is all it would take
And we are there for each other, indeed,
That's for certain, make no mistake!


For girlfriends have the strongest bond
One men just can't comprehend
Be we redhead, brunette or blonde
We're friends oh, yes! - Just don't shag our men! :)

Remember those days, those carefree days
When our biggest worry was
-Will he like me,
-What should I wear?
-My father won't let me stay out past eleven
-My sisiter keeps borrowing my sweaters
And stretching them out.


During the last weeks of our Senior year
We ditched school and drove over the hill
To Santa Cruz, singing all the way:
"Going to the chapel and we're
Gonna get ma - a - a - ried."


When we got there the beach was deserted
We stuck the transistor radio in the sand and
Tuned it to KWAV "The voice of the Monterey Bay!"
We all talked at once except Silent Sheila
Our anchor, our Buddha. Her bookend was
Barbara whose every thought spilled out of her head
Like dice out of a Yatzee cup.
We all talked over each other
And understood one another completely.
It is one of the gifts of being female.


Our talk was delightfully superficial. School gossip.
Cup size (We all wished it was bigger) Doing it.
"I think Durbin has done it."
"Did you hear, she is getting engaged."
"Engaged!"
"They've been going steady since the eighth grade."
"Do you have your Senior Ball dress yet?"
"My sister is making mine.


Its a high waisted A-line, the skirt is mint green satin
And the bodice white with a scooped neck."
"I'm getting my hair done at The Emporium."
"Go to Zelda's Salon, everyone's going there."
And on it went. The sun went behind a cloud,
The tide came in and before you knew we graduated
And went our separate ways.


From time to time the friends I stayed in touch with
Had bits of news about the others. Patty moved to
Seattle and married a helicopter pilot. In the seventies
Regina was living in a treehouse in the Santa Cruz Mountains
with her 'old man'. Carol moved to Aspen and continued to
party throughout the seventies. Chris's daughter went to
Syracuse and majored in broadcasting. And my friend
Jackie, whom I statyed in touched with, contracted an
Aggressive form of MLS and was gone within a year at
The age of fifty. She was the first friend from high school we lost.


There is something about the ocean.
Some say we are drawn to it because
That is where we came from. I have also
Heard the shoreline is special because this
Is where the three elements that sustain us,
water, earth and air, come together.


The ocean is for dreaming, ageless and timeless
Like the best part of ourselves.


In some fundamental ways I have not changed a bit
In all these years.
I still have hopes and dreams.
I still laugh and feel joyful at times.
And sometimes I ditch responsibility drive to the beach,
Stick my toes in the wet sand at the water's edge...
And dream.

Ah, summer time, good old summertime,
down to the beach the gals go,
shucks, not a one
wearing a bikini?


Thoughts of loves and lives,
we still all love to get together,
arm in arm, a long dress,
hiding the folds, pleats and excesses.


Sit talk, walk in the sand,
five old high school friends.
Sip one or many more,
it is our time, together.


Comes the evening, comes the sunset,
we will part until next year.
Remembering the day, thinking about
we will do it again, hopefully more often

We’ll not seek to sing at a wetting,
For our chapeaux are much too beribboned,
Arm in arm we’ll sing our charm
To the morning we’ll sing ‘til the setting.


We will pledge our sisterhood loyalty
To the Neptune College Sorority,
And feel the eyes of the beachcomber guys,
Though we pose only for Royalty.


At the sea, we’ll stay very dry for your eyes,
For we are modest through and through,
But come to the bar after sunset’s past,
As flappers we‘ll dance risqué for a prize.

We were girl friends before we were born. Her mom and mine were friends. They say as a baby she wasn't pretty, heaven knows i wasn't. As she grew to school age she had long beautiful hair, that her mom fixed for her. She had a mom and mine wasn't around much. I admit at times I was jealous. We grew up through some tough times, she and I. Although we didn't share the bad times much. It is the way we were raised, Times weren't good for many people back then. her mom made her rag curls and I caught lice in grade school and got my hair cut shorter. I was most embarrassed. By age 12 we were seperated and I missed her so. How my world had changed, later I came to find so had hers. I was so wrapped up in my own misery it didn't occur to me my best friend was living through her own tough times. She grew up and became a nun, a beautiful nun, taught children. I married twice and had six children and taught them as best I could. I often wonder where my friend is now as she has married and still teaches, or so I was told.

How I wish we could make grass corsages on the lawn again and whisper childish things. She was oldest of six and I an only child, so she educated me about a lot of things. Things moms tell their daughters and things they share. My best friend shared with me, I still thank God she was a part of my early years. Perhaps we will meet again soon, if not she is still my best friend of my early years.

Bless 'em Lord,
those dear ones you send;
to be our playmates,
that we call "best" friend.


They come in all sizes,
fill a space in the heart;
some share their troubles,
'n some take our part.


Think what they give,
so much love; so diverse;
they won't let us down
here for better or worse!


Remember the playmates
when we were just kids;
playin' ladies 'n dress~up
with all a those lids?


Cloches, fedoras 'n
mom's favorite bonnet;
white veils for tha weddins'
a wrap with butterflies on it.


Just can't live without GIRLFRIENDS,
guess that really shows,
'n that's why HE made 'em special,
they're blessings God knows!



Mary Carter Mizrany
February 7, 2009