Elizabeth

Elizabeth was my best friend in high school and we have remained friends ever since. We met our senior year in Journalism class. We became partners in ad-selling for the school newspaper. Elizabeth is the one I told all my secrets to, the one I felt most accepted who I was and loved me anyway.

The first car accident I ever experienced was with Elizabeth. We were in Journalism, out selling ads when she rear-ended a pick up in her Mom's car. I put spider web looking cracks in the windshield with my head, but barely had a bump to show for it. No one was hurt but I think her mom's car was shortened by 18 inches!

Early that school year we both worked at the snack bar at "Skateland"....my first job (not counting babysitting). When we weren't working there we were hanging out there with a group of friends or cruising the main drag (Porter Wagoner Blvd.) or sitting on someone's car along the strip chatting the night away. By the end of our senior year we'd moved on to other jobs -- she at Kentucky Fried Chicken and I went to work at McDonald's across the street and also continued working at the skating rink. We both began working the late shift closing the restaurants and then would head out together before going home. I had the biggest crush on a guy she worked with who drove a motorcycle, Lowell. He was tall, dark and sooo cute. But, Elizabeth liked him too I soon found out so I never said a word. Soon after Elizabeth and Lowell began to date and dated until after he went to college in Branson the next fall. The three of us used to hang out a lot, mostly sitting on the ground in front of KFC talking all night long.

Before I moved to Arizona for school our friend Steve took these pictures for us. We look so young and so.....eightys! I remember Steve being so disappointed when we showed up for the pictures that we weren't dressed up. But this was us. We were tshirt and jeans girls.

Summer, 1989

After I moved to Arizona Elizabeth began dating a guy named Robert. I couldn't afford to go home for Christmas and neither could my room mate Dar, who was also from Missouri. So, Elizabeth and Robert drove all the way to Phoenix to pick us up so we could go home for Christmas!!!! Elizabeth is the only person to come see my apartment in Arizona. Robert got a speeding ticket somewhere in Texas and it was snowing when we hit the Missouri state line. Dar's family met us in West Plains to take her on to Salem and Elizabeth took me to Mom's house. We went to the skating rink to go dancing for old time's sake and had an awesome time catching up again. Elizabeth had arranged for a bunch of our friends to meet us there so I could see them all while I was home. Dar and I flew back to Phoenix and rung in the new year unpacking and crying because we both wanted to be back in Missouri.

A lot of years and miles have become between Elizabeth and me, but we still keep in touch, mostly via email. We are both in Texas now (what are the odds???), but about 5 hours apart so still rarely get together. We are hoping soon to be able to spend some time together, probably meeting half way and wandering around Fredericksburg for a day or two. Won't that be a hardship???!!!

My dad once told me to hang onto the friendship I share with Elizabeth, that she's one of a kind and that kind of friendship doesn't come around all that often. He told me that when she drove 2 hours to attend an anniversary celebration for my parents when Dad was sick. He was so touched that she came. Thank you, Elizabeth, for all that you have meant to me for so many years!