pictures

Carolyn at Breakfast , on her birthday with Linda in the background

Vicki, Carolyn, Nurse Nancy, and Kathy

Anna, Norma,Gini, Carol, Vicki on the Catalina tour

Ginny and me

Part 2

Tonight, I'm reminded of my roomate fall quarter our senior year Ginny Lingren Edwards.
Ginny was "the pretty girl". The one who always seemed to be having fun and dated all the cool guys. Ginny has such a great laugh and everyone around her seem to have fun.
When we started planning for our cruise, Ginny asked if we could room together again, for old times sake. So we did.
Ginny is the one in the big white hat in the upper left of the picture. She helped me plan the fun stuff for the cruise and asked the questions win the door prizes each day at breakfast. Every night we lay in bed laughing trying to figure out what silly things we could ask our friends the next morning so everyone eventually would win a door prize. Ginny also did the planning of the 2 excursions we took while on the cruise.
The first excursion was billed as Catalina Island Land and Sea, almost sound like a dinner menu right? The sea part was billed as an open bottom boat to view the sea life. Well, we had a great time laughing together and watching through the large fish bowl type thing in the middle of the boat to view fish that looked very much like carp. it was great. We then took a bus tour of Catalina, learned alot about the island , history, business and that Natalie Wood drowned just off shore!! We spent the afternoon sightseeing and shopping or going back to the ship.
Pat Roe Laube, the one just left of me in the picture. had purchased a student nurse doll in the SPU bookstore somewhere around 1969. She brought the doll , whom we named Nancy, we took pictures of the doll in every situation we possibly could . She is dressed in the student uniform that we wore. Thanks Pat for adding to the fun.
Now back to Ginny. She has seen her share of the good, the bad and the ugly in life , as all of us have by this time in life. She has 3 children , one severely disabled. Yet , My Ginny, is still fun , still laughs with gusto, loves God, loves her children and loves her husband. Thanks, Ginny, for rooming with me once again. Thanks for the memories old and new.
"Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."

The 60's Chicks in Person Part 1

These 16 women in the picture above are the marvelous, beautiful, friends I call the 60"s Chicks.

We met each other in 1966 when we became freshman nursing students at then Seattle Pacific College. Now University. We were anxious, we were eager, we were idealistic, we were afraid, we were excited but we were mostly young. We struggled through all the things that all young college girls struggle with. It was the 1960's so our world was really changing. The role of women was up for grabs. And the notion was rampant the God was Dead! The Hippie movement was alive and well . The military draft had just assigned lottery numbers to all our male friends. The war in Viet Nam was raging. We all had friends there who we wrote to regularly. We all lost friends there. We worried that the guys we dated had a low draft number-- maybe they would go too.

Beyond that we had things to learn. We learned to make beds so a quarter would bounce on it. We learned to give shots starting with giving them to each other. We learned that nursing students do NOT skip class, do NOT fall asleep in class and do NOT EVER get a "C". We NEVER could stay out late because we started in the hospital at 6AM. In our college days the guys were not allowed on our dorm floors. The girls had "in hours". 8:30 pm during the week our Freshman year. Midnight on weekends!! The guys who lived in the other side of the dorm loved to pull the fire alarms at 3 AM. We girls were requires to file out of the dorm ( I lived on the 5th floor) until the Housemother called an all clear. The guys? I just remember them lining their windows watching us all tromp through the night in our pajamas and curlers in our hair..

It was really during these long hours in dorm that I began to really know these girls.

Joyce Lager , the first girl I met when I went to preregister for classes. She lived in the Bellevue area and I lived in Boulevard Park so we could commute easily to early registration. She was sweet and kind. She didn't show that she was nervous. I thought she was very smart. ( and she was). She lived in Hill Hall too 2 floors below me, I think.

She became my friend who I would go to for reaasurance and encouragement. The one who could always make me feel ok even if I'd done something really stupid. She was the one who didn't always like the boys I dated and would tactfully say so!! Joyce is at the bottom right of the picture in a green shirt, right next to me.

Joyce is now Joyce Anderson, still works as a nurse, is married to a PHD, The mother of 4 children, 3 girls ,1 boy all college graduates. Her oldest daughter is finishing a residency in OBGYN. She has 2 grandsons . A Connor, too.

The bond of women who knew you "when" before life happened and who love you still after much of life has happened. The connection that is still there even though the communication wasn't always. Friendship is the most amazing thing.

When I sat down tonight I had intended to write about the cruise and the wonderful time we had together in one post, but then the memories came. It will be several more posts before I'm done, I believe.

I do , however remember turning 20 with these girls. Now next week I will turn 60( all but one other already have so I am almost the youngest) How quickly we went from Freshmen nursing students to "The 60's Chicks"

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain"

Thank God for my 60's Chicks

Long time gone

Since my last post about Memorial Day, I have been busy with travels family and business. I went on a mission to Dominican Republic in July, Montreal and Quebec City with my sisters for a "back to our roots" trip in August, A marvelous reunion cruise with friends fo 40 years in September, A trip to Lake Havasu , Arizona to judge the Ms Senior Lake Havasu pageant, Hosting our week long company retreat at the Oregon Coast. Nashvillle, to accompany 3 of our Skilled Nursing Facilities to receive their national Quality Care awards and finally to the Grand opening of our newly built Prestige Assisted Living in Manteca, California!!!!

It has been a busy year but now I am home. I am looking forward to blogging the fun stuff now.

Ged Bless the 60's Chicks Absolutly nothing like friends that knew you "when"