Flashbacks of a Good Kind

I keep having flashbacks to my youth.

First it was watching The Best of the Electric Company, thanks to Netflix. I remember liking this show when I was younger, but couldn't remember much about it.

Now I remember what made it so awesome: Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader (oozing coolness in his too-tight bell bottoms); Letterman (Faster than a Rolling O, Stronger than a Silent E. . .); child actors who weren't polished into scary smiling robots; and an overall feeling that the people of this show were having a blast at it.




And then there was this:

Oh yeah, Inchworm. We had this growing up but my mom ditched it years ago (probably during one of her "I have two girls who are getting old, and I have nooooooo grandchildren" fits). Luckily my sister got this one from a friend, and now my mother's FIVE grandchildren will be able to ride on this for years to come.

Then I saw this person:


M. is one of my oldest childhood friends; we met when I was almost 8, she was 9, and we lived a street apart until college. It didn't matter that she was a jock and I was a girlie-girl, or that we didn't even go to the same high school.

Since college, she has lived in New York, Japan, Colorado, The Netherlands, and now, California. During this same time, I have lived in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It doesn't matter that we seemingly are so different----we have all the right things in common that make a friendship last decades.

Here we are in 1984, looking just too cute in matching Hampton Beach-wear.

And, now, this weekend, I will see this crew:

(sorry J.; as you know,we took this with the 'blonde' camera; we can almost see you off my right shoulder!)

These are my high school girlfriends. Over the 20+ years since graduation, we have lost touch and reconnected with each other several times. Our kids range in age from 2 to 13. The last time we were all together was our 20th high school reunion in '05.

This weekend we will descend upon Boston like locust, or maybe more like five drunk housewives who can't believe they have just left the kids with dad for two whole nights. If history has any bearing, it should be a very fun few days.

I mean, look at what we were up to in 1985:

Yes, those are the "French Fry guys". I think I was red.

All I need to do now is start practicing this move, from Zoom, and the kids will truly be dazzled by my amazingness.