Business and the BFF’s

Linda Burton posting from Edmonds, Washington while traveling between Juneau, Alaska and Helena, Montana – Okay, okay, capital cities are great, and two-year journeys across the entire United States are awesome. But sometimes you need to stop and take care of business. It had been six months since I last visited the dentist at home in Alabama; how fortunate that my former dentist from Seattle days could schedule me in today! Taking care of business. And the Scion; another 5,000 miles have added up since that Austin, Texas checkup at Charles Maund Toyota back in March, so a visit to Magic Toyota in Edmonds was on tap too. It’s all about maintenance. But the most important item on the ticket is touching base with friends. It’s been almost three years since I left the Pacific Northwest; but super news, Carmelita and Jennifer both can get together with me in my waning hours before I start driving east again.

Carmelita and Jennifer. One my former co-worker, one my former bus-mate, working together and riding together every weekday during ten years at the University of Washington.  A lot of times shared, both good and bad; a lot of headaches weathered through. A lot of jokes! A lot of code words and understanding nods; a lot of wisdom bandied back and forth. You know what I mean. A little tune started bobbing around in my head; I stopped to look up the lyrics. Remember the old I Love Lucy TV show? Back in the 50’s Lucy and Ethel sang a song about friendship on one episode; actually, on more than one. Friendship is a Cole Porter tune; it was on Broadway in Anything Goes; it was in a film of the same name. It says it all! 

• If you’re ever in a jam, here I am
• If you’re ever in a mess, S-O-S
• If you ever feel so happy, you land in jail; I’m your bail.
• It’s friendship, friendship, just a perfect blendship.
• When other friendships have been forgot,
• Ours will still be hot.
•  If you ever lose your mind, I’ll be kind.
• If you ever lose your shirt, I’ll be hurt.
• If you’re ever in a mill and get sawed in half, I won’t laugh.
• It’s friendship, friendship, just a perfect blendship,
• When other friendships have been “forgate”
• Ours will still be great!

“Friendship” songs have been almost instant hits over the years, and they stick in our minds forever, for what is better than celebrating a friend? James Taylor had a #1 hit with You’ve Got a Friend in 1971; Bill Withers went straight to #1 on the pop charts with Lean on Me. And there are those TV theme songs – Thank You For Being A Friend introduced us to Golden Girls Dorothy and Blanche and Rose for years; I’ll Be There For You makes us think of Friends Rachel and Monica and Phebes to this day (we must like watching friends interact, both shows are still in reruns all over the place).

Carmelita and I went out for Chinese; steamed rice and shrimp with walnuts and pots and pots of tea. Jennifer and I shared Mexican; steamed tortillas and prawns with mushrooms and garlic and baskets of chips. But of course the most important thing we shared was talking time. I thought about researching friendships from the pages of history; I thought of writing about the westward migration; the friends left behind, and the friends gained along the trail, so I could make this a more historical post.

But heck, it’s enough to say that friendships continue solid; no matter where any of us are at any moment in time. And Carmelita and Jennifer love the Scion!