3 Amigos
It doesn't seem right that sadness tends to be the thing that brings three old friends together, but I suppose that's natural.
Growing up in Midland I had three best friends, Bill, Ronnie [now Ron] and Rufe. Bill was the first kid I met in Midland when we moved here in 1960. He lived across the alley from me and that, I believe, is where we met. We were instant friends and have been for the last 46 years. Ron was a friend of Bill's whom I met not long afterwards and we too have been lifelong close friends. Ron and I share the same birthday. We went thru part of grade school, junior high and high school tied at the waist. The last time Bill, Ronnie and I were together was in 2000 at the funeral for Rufe's tragic and untimely death.
This weekend Bill, Ron and I were together to honor the passing of Ron's mother, Mrs. Billie Hunt. The mothers of my best friends were like second mothers to me. Sometimes you could tell them things that you wouldn't dare mention to your own mother or if you were stuck at the show on a Saturday afternoon you could call your friends mom to come get you. And they did and didn't think a thing about it. We were all very close then.
Mrs. Hunt was a kind, warm, generous and gregarious soul who was fun to be around and loved having the boys over. They were also the first people we knew who owned a color TV, so we were at Ron's house quite a bit. Bille was a founding member and perpetual patron of the Midland Community Theater and personally founded the Midland Symphony Debutante program, which is still in high gear today. Billie's health started to decline some years ago so she moved to Houston to be near her two sons, but I still called her at least once a year and her voice still sounded full of life and some degree of mischief. I'll miss the thought of her being gone.
But she and her sons were ready for her passing and this weekend was one filled of joyous remembrances, laughter and I got to see my two best amigos, along with Ron's wife and his fast growing son and other special people. Here's Ron, Bill and Me with a portrait of Billie which I remember hanging in their home.
It doesn't seem right that sadness tends to be the thing that brings three old friends together, but I suppose that's natural.
Growing up in Midland I had three best friends, Bill, Ronnie [now Ron] and Rufe. Bill was the first kid I met in Midland when we moved here in 1960. He lived across the alley from me and that, I believe, is where we met. We were instant friends and have been for the last 46 years. Ron was a friend of Bill's whom I met not long afterwards and we too have been lifelong close friends. Ron and I share the same birthday. We went thru part of grade school, junior high and high school tied at the waist. The last time Bill, Ronnie and I were together was in 2000 at the funeral for Rufe's tragic and untimely death.
This weekend Bill, Ron and I were together to honor the passing of Ron's mother, Mrs. Billie Hunt. The mothers of my best friends were like second mothers to me. Sometimes you could tell them things that you wouldn't dare mention to your own mother or if you were stuck at the show on a Saturday afternoon you could call your friends mom to come get you. And they did and didn't think a thing about it. We were all very close then.
Mrs. Hunt was a kind, warm, generous and gregarious soul who was fun to be around and loved having the boys over. They were also the first people we knew who owned a color TV, so we were at Ron's house quite a bit. Bille was a founding member and perpetual patron of the Midland Community Theater and personally founded the Midland Symphony Debutante program, which is still in high gear today. Billie's health started to decline some years ago so she moved to Houston to be near her two sons, but I still called her at least once a year and her voice still sounded full of life and some degree of mischief. I'll miss the thought of her being gone.
But she and her sons were ready for her passing and this weekend was one filled of joyous remembrances, laughter and I got to see my two best amigos, along with Ron's wife and his fast growing son and other special people. Here's Ron, Bill and Me with a portrait of Billie which I remember hanging in their home.
