Hello, how are you?

Let's see...so far, I looked like a ranger (Sunday), and archaeologist (Thursday) and the Mafia (Friday). I don't know what the bases are because I look like I do everyday when I am in Texas and that is a middle-aged wife and mother. Tomorrow, I wonder what I will be compared to or what I will look like. I know we are going to a party.

So today, my daughter was reading Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" while my sister and I were busy laughing at the things we were saying to each other. My sister has this uncanny ability to make any situation humorous and today was no different. My daughter and I dragged ourselves out of bed finally and my sister took us to central New Jersey at 3:00 o'clock PM among the hills, trees and farms and into Delaware and Pennsylvania.

The quaint little towns were becoming "touristy" so after eating ice cream (guess what flavor I had) we left for a friend's house.

My sister's friend is the best friend of another friend of hers and someone I met 27 years ago. I met her because she was the friend of my best friend then, before RM. This best friend that I had also happened to have been my mentor, my clinical instructor in nursing college and my roommate in NJ for three months. I met this best friend of mine when I was a 15 year old overly assertive and enthusiastic student nurse who needed supervision. She was a young clinical instructor who had the most beautiful smile, dimples, disposition, patience and open mind. Later when she went to the US, she facilitated my employment papers with the human resource department of the hospital in New Jersey where she worked and later offered me a job. When I arrived in the US, I had no place to stay so she let me stay in her apartment for three months until I moved to a place of my own.

So we arrived at my sister's friend's house and I immediately remembered the time we went to a park with my best friend. I asked her if they get in touch with one another and she said yes, whereupon I asked if she wouldn't mind if I asked for my former best friend's telephone number. She obliged and she also gave me my former best friend's address. Since I had my phone with me and she was preparing dinner for us, I dialed my former best friend's number...

Twenty seven years ago I was so full of myself. I was young and immature and after making friends with everyone and establishing very close and intimate relationships with a few of them, I decided to pack up and leave with such short notice and in my best friend's case, no notice at all.

So this evening I found myself talking to her, OH MY GOD! she sounded the same like she did 27 years ago. She did not recognize me because I was stammering and struggling to find the right words in our language which I was never fluent in the first place. So I spoke English and she asked who I was and I slowly said my name because I was so anxious for her reaction and I could hear her, and her husband who was driving, on the other line and it was like 27 years ago again...So in half an hour we updated each other with everything that happened to our lives within the last 23 years...and I finally found the courage to apologize to her. She was caught off guard and asked why I was apologizing and I told her for not saying goodbye, after all the good things she has done for me and she simply said "oh, you don't need to apologize, you had personal needs at that time and you had to go..." Wow! I can see her face, smiling and cheerful as ever and she was more concerned about seeing me before I go back to Texas but she asked one question..."Are you still thin?"...GULP! "No, I am very fat" I replied and just like someone who was sure how I'd take it, she said "Shame on you!" and she laughed and so I had to go but not before I told her that I always loved her and never stopped loving her and she replied "I know!"

An hour later she sent her email address by text message.

The Delaware River along the borders of PA and NJ