A Long and Rich Friendship

Our friends Anne and Harold are staying with us on their way to visit their children in Southern California. We are well placed for break in their trip from Oregon where they live. It has been almost two years since we've seen them and there has been a lot of talking and reminiscing going on since they arrived.

John and Harold's friendship began at CalTech where they both went to school. I met John when he was a senior (and I was a senior in high school)  and I met Harold shortly thereafter, probably at one of their epic parties at which 'Geology Punch' made by Richard Feynman was served. Geology Punch packed quite a punch and at some point Harold and I, both probably quite drunk, wound up In a corner where I gave him a serious pep talk about getting out and being proactive about meeting women. Even though I could barely claim that designation myself, I apparently felt perfectly qualified to dole out advice to the lovelorn. Neither Harold nor I can remember anymore what exactly brought this on, but I have always claimed credit for the fact that very soon after that he met Anne, an English nurse who came here on a nurses exchange program with several friends, arriving on the day of Kennedy's assassination. The rest is history, as they say. We have been at both of their children's weddings and they have been to all three of ours. We are truly family....

In other news, our house cleaner has decided that she does not want to be vaccinated, and because I tried to convince her that she should be, it would be better if she didn't work for us. She's pretty overwhelmed by life in general since her house burned down, and was probably looking for an excuse to cut back on her work schedule, but it makes me sad...Spike won't miss her big red vacuum cleaner, but I will miss her....