WHO WERE THEY?
That fuzzy photo is stamped June 1969. That’s one month before I met the man of my dreams. I was at a sleepover at my friend Barbara’s house. I’m the brunette on the left side of the armchair.
Who are the others? Classmates that I partied with but then lost track of many years ago. Probably we parted when we were still in school. Who knows why? Possibly different classes, new friends, or simply uncommon interests.
I remember the girl on the right. That’s Ramona. We were best friends one summer. I would walk to her house carrying my transistor radio, screaming along to the words of the songs from artists and groups such as Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Tom Jones, Lou Christie, the Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes…on and on, until I got to Ramona’s so we could “hang out.”
Even-tempered Ramona was always calm and collected; she consistently sported a pleasant disposition. She was the eldest of three girls. Her sister closest in age to us was Ruta but, as I recall, they called her Otta. Their “baby” sister was Roselinda. The given names of the three brainy and mild-mannered sisters all began with the letter R.
As far as the other girl in the photo is concerned, the one sitting on the chair, I recognize her, but can’t tell you her name. Funny, I remember when she came to a birthday party at my friend Marie’s apartment. Marie lived with her mother, a widowed Russian immigrant who did not speak English.
Marie, one of my “weekly readers,” probably remembers our classmate’s name. I’ll ask her, if she doesn’t volunteer the answer when she reads this blog post.
Barbara Sue, alternately known by her first and middle names, threw fun sleepovers. I remember her father carrying in boxes of pizza for us, her parents passing like two ships in the night as one went to work and the other to sleep, and I can still picture the smile on her sister Karen’s face when she asked to braid my hair.
In the days of those sleepovers, Barbara’s two younger sisters were little girls. Most likely by then, her brother, Andrew, who graduated high school with my brother Stu, was away at college.
Coincidentally, my husband Arnee graduated high school the same year as Karen. He attended Hebrew School with Karen and Andrew and we’ve remained close family friends. While Arnee was in classes with them, for a short time even Barbara Sue attended their Hebrew School.
Barbara Sue settled in Colorado, where we visited her many years ago. As it turned out, we see much more of Barbara Sue’s family who remained in New Jersey. On occasion, when she comes to New Jersey, we catch up.
See my September 24, 2019 blog post, Somethings Just Take Time, at sharonmarkcohen.com. Rest in peace dear Erica (February 26, 1924 - April 3, 2021). We have a tremendous amount of fond memories.
Barbara Sue 2023 Photo from Facebook