It will be fifty-two years in September that I met Betsy during our freshman year at Mount Holyoke. We were on the same floor in 1837 Hall. I don't remember if it was the first week of school that we met or the second week, but quickly Betsy became a friend. Though our backgrounds could not be less alike, we were kindred spirits with similar interests and perhaps, more importantly, we laughed at the same quirks of life.
Years passed and we lived in different dorms for two years and then were reunited with a close group of friends for our senior year. We all ate dinner together every night and formed a close bond. We went our separate ways after graduation. I was in graduate school in Nashville and Betsy moved to Cleveland for business school.After school, we both gravitated to Manhattan and lived two blocks away. We both ultimately moved away from our first apartments and lost touch, not an uncommon story for college friends.
But the world can be an amazing place and forty-two years after our college graduation we learned that we were, once again, neighbors living on the same street four blocks apart. We'd both had ups and downs, but we still had similar interests and we still laughed at the same quirks of life, and we still were/are friends.
The last six years have been sweet.
We've had lots of good times in New York City
Fabulous visits to Maine
And our trip of a lifetime last summer to England, Scotland and Ireland
Betsy in Iona, May 2019
Today is Betsy's 70th birthday. Plans for the celebration have changed considerably, but not the good wishes. Dear Betsy, here's to many more years of good times, good health and happiness. So grateful that you are my neighbor and most of all, my friend.
