2026 TRIP

Today is a day for seeing friends who have been an important part of my life for about seven decades. First, I picked up my friend “Goodie” at 8:30.  He and I have been friends since he moved into the neighborhood when we were about 11-12 years old. He was given the nickname Goodie because his last name is Goodman.  We then drove to visit our friend Monroe and his wife Mary.  Monroe became part of our group when we were 14. He and I have remained friends even though he was responsible for setting me up on the blind date with Jayne (ex #2).  (sorry Jayne you know I say that with good humor… yuk yuk, sure I do, wink wink).  Monroe and Mary are living in the most exquisite assisted/independent residence I have ever seen.  It is called the Palace and that is an understatement. The background picture on this page is of the reception lobby. It was a fun visit that made me wish we didn’t live so far from each other.

After the visit, Goodie and I went for lunch at the Weston Diner where I had the world’s worst hamburger but very good fries.  The dining experience was enhanced by having a truly magical waiter... after the terrible food was brought to us, he disappeared never to be seen again.  When we were finished we gave up waiting for the check and went to the register where we had to call for someone to come so we could pay for our meals.

From there we went to visit Barbara the widow of my dear friend Neil who was my friend for almost 75 years since we were 8 years old.  Barbara has always been and continues to be a terrific friend in her own right.  We all went for dinner at the club in her community and sadly it was the second bad meal of the day.  Fortunately spending time with all of these longtime friends was far better and important than any meal could be.