Top - Cindy and me. Bottom - Jane and Jeanne.
I know, I missed another night of posting. I have a good excuse. I was busy. No not washing my hair. I was getting together with people from Atlantic that I hadn't seen for many years. Some Facebook friends.
I reconnected with these ladies, mostly classmates (one the parent of a classmate) on Facebook in the past year. They all live in the Des Moines area. They had all met for brunch one Sunday a few months ago, but this time they planned their get-together so I could attend.
Jane Buck is the mother of my little buddy of my childhood Tommy Buck. Sister Susi hung out with Linda Buck - that's probably how I hooked up with Tom. Bucks lived about a block from us in the post WWll neighborhood called Fairlawns - single story one car garage homes built in the flat area just down the hill from our house. It was fun to ride my bike there, but the way back was hell.
I mostly liked Tommy because he had all the good boy toys - little green army men, baseball gloves and caps and guns. Jane recalls my mother Pat Bullock calling her to warn that Tommy was invited to my birthday, wondering if he would be bothered that he was the only boy. Jane said he wasn't.
Sadly, Tom and his mother are estranged. Granted I only have her story - which is Tom's wife is very strange and jealous. She cuts Tom off from everyone and every thing. Tom attended the Junior College in Council Bluffs and has made a fortune as a Lab Tech. Not sure how, but it doesn't sound like a happy life to me - his wife has had a $100,000 makeover according to Jane.
Linda Buck has changed her name to Linden. Jane's husband Bill died very young (age 51) like many of the men who worked for Walnut Grove. Jane lives in a ritzy retirement apartment and is cancer free after breast cancer in 2008.
Jeanne Westbrook Smith was another neighbor from the hood, the I learned last night she attended Jackson (Jackass) School from the old part of town before they moved up on Bryn Mawr Circle - across the street and back yards from our house. All I had to do to get there was to walk through the Baxters little sweet corn field. (The Baxters were my godparents)
Until last night I totally blocked out that Jeanne had braces on her leg due to a hip problem. She said she had been in a wheelchair. I wonder if she's okay now - can she exercise? I also remembered later that Jeanne had ponies in a field just outside of town that I got to ride a couple times. Ecstasy!
Jeanne's parents ran the Atlantic Airport and she had a dance at the hangar one time - when I was dating Taco Ortiz (that relationship lasted 5 days or so), his dad managed the Pizza Hut. They moved away when we were in high school and Jeanne graduated from Ames High, but she's always invited back to our reunions. I regret I didn't get to know her better. Her husband Scott seems to be nice - they sell insurance coast to coast for planes, boats - weird to insure stuff. They have a couple college age kids.
Jeanne is also estranged from her family - sounds like a money thing though I don't know details. I don't remember the older sisters. Dick Westbrook used to mow our lawn.
Cindy Westfall comes from a large Catholic family so I knew her from CCD. She also went to Jackson School, but moved up to the newer neighborhood up by the YMCA in upper elementary - I remember going to a slumber party there. She said her mother told her to hang with Jeanne on the blacktop in in wheelchair during recess. Jeanne had blocked that out until they reconnected recently.
Cindy's Dad died young in 1969, so her mom had a tough task raising the large family alone. Cindy was very nice - eager to please. In high school she was one of those people I saw around and talked to at school, but didn't socialize with. She divorced after living in the Spencer area twenty years. She went back to school, lived back in Atlantic for a while and is an EMT. Yesterday she quit her job after being sexually harassed by a woman and not supported by management. She's remarried and her husband lives in Kansas City (even farther away than mine!)
We chatted and caught up on each others lives. After hearing about Jeanne and Jane's issues with family, I once again remembered to be so very thankful for how lucky and blessed I am for such good relationships with my sisters and with Paul's family. Here's to you my fam!
I reconnected with these ladies, mostly classmates (one the parent of a classmate) on Facebook in the past year. They all live in the Des Moines area. They had all met for brunch one Sunday a few months ago, but this time they planned their get-together so I could attend.
Jane Buck is the mother of my little buddy of my childhood Tommy Buck. Sister Susi hung out with Linda Buck - that's probably how I hooked up with Tom. Bucks lived about a block from us in the post WWll neighborhood called Fairlawns - single story one car garage homes built in the flat area just down the hill from our house. It was fun to ride my bike there, but the way back was hell.
I mostly liked Tommy because he had all the good boy toys - little green army men, baseball gloves and caps and guns. Jane recalls my mother Pat Bullock calling her to warn that Tommy was invited to my birthday, wondering if he would be bothered that he was the only boy. Jane said he wasn't.
Sadly, Tom and his mother are estranged. Granted I only have her story - which is Tom's wife is very strange and jealous. She cuts Tom off from everyone and every thing. Tom attended the Junior College in Council Bluffs and has made a fortune as a Lab Tech. Not sure how, but it doesn't sound like a happy life to me - his wife has had a $100,000 makeover according to Jane.
Linda Buck has changed her name to Linden. Jane's husband Bill died very young (age 51) like many of the men who worked for Walnut Grove. Jane lives in a ritzy retirement apartment and is cancer free after breast cancer in 2008.
Jeanne Westbrook Smith was another neighbor from the hood, the I learned last night she attended Jackson (Jackass) School from the old part of town before they moved up on Bryn Mawr Circle - across the street and back yards from our house. All I had to do to get there was to walk through the Baxters little sweet corn field. (The Baxters were my godparents)
Until last night I totally blocked out that Jeanne had braces on her leg due to a hip problem. She said she had been in a wheelchair. I wonder if she's okay now - can she exercise? I also remembered later that Jeanne had ponies in a field just outside of town that I got to ride a couple times. Ecstasy!
Jeanne's parents ran the Atlantic Airport and she had a dance at the hangar one time - when I was dating Taco Ortiz (that relationship lasted 5 days or so), his dad managed the Pizza Hut. They moved away when we were in high school and Jeanne graduated from Ames High, but she's always invited back to our reunions. I regret I didn't get to know her better. Her husband Scott seems to be nice - they sell insurance coast to coast for planes, boats - weird to insure stuff. They have a couple college age kids.
Jeanne is also estranged from her family - sounds like a money thing though I don't know details. I don't remember the older sisters. Dick Westbrook used to mow our lawn.
Cindy Westfall comes from a large Catholic family so I knew her from CCD. She also went to Jackson School, but moved up to the newer neighborhood up by the YMCA in upper elementary - I remember going to a slumber party there. She said her mother told her to hang with Jeanne on the blacktop in in wheelchair during recess. Jeanne had blocked that out until they reconnected recently.
Cindy's Dad died young in 1969, so her mom had a tough task raising the large family alone. Cindy was very nice - eager to please. In high school she was one of those people I saw around and talked to at school, but didn't socialize with. She divorced after living in the Spencer area twenty years. She went back to school, lived back in Atlantic for a while and is an EMT. Yesterday she quit her job after being sexually harassed by a woman and not supported by management. She's remarried and her husband lives in Kansas City (even farther away than mine!)
We chatted and caught up on each others lives. After hearing about Jeanne and Jane's issues with family, I once again remembered to be so very thankful for how lucky and blessed I am for such good relationships with my sisters and with Paul's family. Here's to you my fam!
2 comments:
and be happy i haven't estranged you yet or stole your money for a boob job, although i have considered both.
though you are strange, especially now that you've gone all peta on us...
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