The Golden Girls
Janice, Theresa, Dee and I have been friends since 7th grade.
That’s 70 years, people!
We were as close as you can imagine. We were tight. We did it all. We did it together.
No matter that we were all such different personalities, we loved each other like only Best Friends Forever can.
Janice was ditzy
Theresa was feisty
Dee was the guy magnet
I was the scholar
In due time, everyone was married, raising kids and way too busy to think about staying in touch.
It was a few years later that I went looking for my BFFs.
Janice was in Weatherford, OK, later moving to Ardmore, OK.
Janice was married but kinda ‘taking a break’. She took breaks pretty often. Her husband, Brad, was back in Alaska.
Theresa was married and living in Springfield, MO.
After high school, she was a flight attendant for Braniff Airlines. She met her husband, Don, at a party and was attracted to him because he was wearing a three piece suit. Really.
In Springfield she was secretary to the City Manager.
Dee was divorced and living in Moore, OK.
She had been married three times but only counted two. Dee said that one marriage had been such a big mistake and lasted such a short time that she didn’t even count it.
She was secretary to some big shot in USPS administration.
We had a reunion, of course, and were delighted to be together again.
It had been years since we were in school, but we just picked up right where we left off; like the years of separation never happened.
We spent every birthday together at someone’s home, traveling either to Ardmore, Springfield, Moore or Broken Arrow.
That’s about the time I started calling us The Golden Girls. The others don’t know that I call us that, so please don’t tell them.
Not sure if you remember The Golden Girls, a TV show in the late 80s, early 90s. It was about four women “of a certain age” who were best friends.
Each character was so much like one of us, it was eerie. Uncanny.
Rose, the ditzy one. Janice.
Blanche, the man crazy one. Dee.
Sophia, feisty and sassy. Theresa.
Dorothy, smart and sarcastic. Me
We were, indeed, The Golden Girls.
I never shared this with the others because I didn’t want to hear any whining. I am pretty sure Theresa would say, “But I don’t wanna be Sophia.”
Even the theme song for the TV show was perfect, “Thanks For Being My Friend”.
The last time Janice, Theresa and I were together was when we went to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, almost two years ago. (Dee doesn’t travel anymore).
Because of this crazy Covid world, I have no idea when we’ll be able to be together again. I’m sure when we do, we’ll just pick up right where we left off.
That’s just how it is with us Golden Girls.
– Sue Williams