Time Spent with Old Friends

As busy as I am, I’m grateful when I am able to spend time with old friends. On Saturday night, with Steve away, I made my way over to Granada Hills where my best friend Amy lives. Her mom Elaine is currently living with Amy, recovering from a fall at her home in Palm Desert. Amy cooked us up a feast and, coupled with a bottle of wine and excellent conversation, the night was one well spent. We shared ailments, memories and plans for the future.

I’ve known Amy and her family since 1974, meeting not long after they arrived from New York. Though Amy has lived in California for nearly 45 years, one can still hear that distinctive New York accent come through in her speech. We have gone through ups and downs over the years including marriages, divorces, births and deaths. As much as I adore Amy I love her mom.

It is with laughter that we recall our time together at work. We worked at a temporary employment agency and some of the people who walked through our doors were characters, to say the least. We would ponder writing a book about the crazy situations we found ourselves in then thought no one would believe these stories were true. Looking back, I realize how lucky I was to share that time with Elaine.

On Sunday, a party of us drove over to the home of our La Crescenta friend and devoted CV Weekly reader and supporter Don Norbut. Armed with pizza and beer (Don is a former brew master), Mary O’Keefe, Charly and Molly Shelton joined my sons Andy, Matt and me for an afternoon of laughter and memories.

Don is a WWII vet and, being so near the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the conversation drifted to his time in the military. But more than that, we talked about his time at Anheuser-Busch and the famous Busch Gardens (yes, we had a theme park right near us in Van Nuys). It was another excellent time spent with friends.

With the outside temperatures nearing 100, we all looked longingly at Don’s pool and decided that a barbecue needs to be planned. Of course, we’ll bring beer, too.

  robin goldsworthy