It was an ordinary day. Just got one of the neatest Christmas cards in the mail from our good friends Jere and Just Sue who live in State College, Pennsylvania. Carol and I have been good friends with Jere and Just Sue for many years and have traveled to Hawaii a few times as well as quite a few islands in the Caribbean with the two of them.
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| The center part of the fold-out Christmas card. |
The card that arrived today was a fold-out type card that when I opened it a Santa popped out, sitting on a beach chair, under an umbrella with a drink in his pineapple cup he held. There was also a pink flamingo as well as a dolphin in the background, all under a few palm trees that were decorated with Christmas lights. As I searched I found other beach related items to go along with all the rest of the items listed above. Didn't take me more than a few seconds to realized Just Sue had picked out our card this year. Jere and I have been friends since we entered 1st grade at Brecht Elementary School in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We lived a few blocks from each other, but never got to know each other until we began school together. When we entered 10th grade at Manheim Township High School in nearby Neffsville, PA, we had a new member of our class. Her name was Sue. Jere got to know her a bit better than I did since he had quite a few classes with her. We all graduated together in 1962 and by that time Jere and Sue were a "couple". Jere went to sea after graduation when he joined the Navy and I headed to Millersville State Teachers College to become an Industrial Arts teacher. Before long I found that Jere and Sue had married while I was still looking for the girl of my dreams. The next 30 years were quite uneventful with me marrying the girl of my dreams while Jere and I both taught together at Manheim Township High School in the Industrial Arts Department.  |
| Traveling friends Larry, Carol, Just Sue and Jere. |
We both retired from MTHS in 1999 and our lives began a different path. A few weeks after we retired from teaching, Jere and Sue as well as Carol and myself were on a plane to Hawaii with about a half dozen other members of MTHS. It was an entirely new experience for us and in no time we became best friends all over again with Jere and Sue. When we returned from our vacation, Jere and Sue moved to State College which was close to where Sue had grown up.  |
| Many think that Carol and Just Sue are sisters! |
We took turns visiting with them and they in turn came to Lancaster from time to time to visit with us. Then we began to travel...exotic places such as Tortolla, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Aruba, Jamiaca, etc., etc. We hit just about every island in the Caribbean along with a trip through the Panama Canal. We grew closer and seem to enjoy visiting as well as weekly phone calls all the time. As time went by, we found out more about each other and found that Sue was talented in many ways. As Carol and I decorated for Christmas this year we found quite a few ornaments that she has made for us. We also have a few really neat needlepoint items that she has made for us. A blanket or two grace the beds in the bedrooms of our home. In turn I mat and frame a few of Sue's projects she makes for other friends. I grabbed my camera the other day and began to take photos of some of the items she has made for us. Check out the photos I have included with this story. As for the "Just Sue" name...well that goes back to one of our first trips together when our travel agent got Sue's tickets with the name Susan on them instead of just Sue. Last minute rushing was needed to make all the changes and when we went to travel about 6 months later, Sue reminded our agent that it was "just" Sue, not Susan. Ever since that time her nickname has become "Just Sue". A reminder of our traveling times together. The recent ban on traveling has taken a toll of the four of us, but hopefully we will soon be able to travel once more with Jere and Just Sue to some exotic location in the Caribbean. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| A pillow with a cross-stitch image on it can be found on our sofa. |
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| One of many Christmas tree ornaments we have that Sue made. |
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| Another Christmas ornament. |
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| My wife collects reindeer so Sue made her one. |
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| A small framed set of sandals. Perfect for beachbums. |
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