Friends help to fill out our lives

Letters to My Hometown, by Patricia Mycek Sumpter

Dear Folks,

This is the fourth letter I have written for The Enterprise. The first three were submitted when I sent them to Wellington to see if the local paper would be interested in using them. To my honest shock and happy surprise they put the letters in print.

For the pleasure this gives me I would like to dedicate this month's letter to a friend no longer with us: Marcia Berarducci. In early April when I had the good fortune to visit her, she gave me the nudge I needed to submit my letters to The Enterprise. I don't know if it is so much a nudge as I feel I owe it to her to try; Marcia, always the teacher.

I think the obvious topic for this letter should be friendships, how varied they can be in our lifetime. The very first friendship I can remember, with no help of photographs or my mother telling me it was just this way, was with a girl also named Patty.

We were neighbors in Central Valley, N.Y. We walked to school together, and we were in the same class at school.

In 1960 we moved to Hale Street in Wellington. As luck would have it, a girl one year younger than me lived across the street. Her name was Gail.

Gail was a quiet girl; I think my mom wished I could be like Gail. My first day of school in November of that year was so exciting.

I remember being a bundle of nervous energy. My mother and I entered what is now McCormick Middle and we were directed to Mrs. Lutz's third grade class. There I saw a girl named Kathy with the longest braids I have ever seen. My life of friendships began anew.

In the fourth grade, I found myself in Mrs. Avery's classroom. We lived on Prospect Street. Walking to school was an adventure. Denny, Terri and Kathy all lived close by so I always had someone to walk to school beside.

In junior high my dad moved us to Sheila Drive. I walked to school with Liane and Janice and Donna. That was a long walk, from Sheila to McCormick School. I am sure each of us girls has told our children about the walk being uphill both ways, too.

Dad had enough of town living and he wanted to live in the country just like Mr. Douglas on Green Acres. So we moved to Brighton on Route 18. That was the home my friends remember the most.

I became a bus rider. Mrs. Jenkins and Mrs. Cooper became my new friends. Well maybe not Mrs. Jenkins so much; she was pretty strict. Terry from Prospect Street was now on the bus route, as her folks moved to Brighton, too. There was also Steve, Cyd, Ruthie, Bill, Sheryl and Kathy.

When kids started driving to school Debbie or Nelson would give me a ride. I am sure they took pity on me standing at the end of the driveway.

School activities, church activities, and extracurricular activities are open invitations to friendship. Our social life keeps us open to friendly relationships that carry us through to the next friend that comes our way.

Dating can be full of good friendships or not so good, depending on whom you are dating. A very nice friend of mine introduced me to Jack. Jack and I have a very good friendship; he is my best friend. We started taking walks together in 1972 and we are still walking.

During those years I have had the best of friends come into my life. A girl I went to school with ended up being a best friend.

We had babies three weeks apart, married quiet guys, walked miles together, talked hours together, went shopping and to the movies. We even had an argument or two.

We laughed so much and cried more, but not by choice. Life just happened. One day she made the decision to move near her son, and when she moved, we cried. Then I moved away and we cried some more.

We were afraid of losing our friendship, but we make it a point to talk at least once a month or more. We are still each other's friend but 300 miles apart.

My sister is my best friend, too. We have many things in common and much more not in common. We can talk for hours on the phone and we have found it does not matter if we live three miles or 325 miles apart.

We laugh, roll our eyes, cry, and debate and argue. Our friendship has history; it is solid and steadfast. I love my sister for her strength and common sense.

I need her to bounce thoughts off of when I am troubled. She is my confidante. Like many sisters we have a special friendship. Our biggest laugh is calling each other sister sister.

I have two daughters-in-law that are becoming good friends. They joke with each other and laugh (about me, I'm almost sure) but my joy is in watching them nourish their new friendship. Our family has been blessed by these ladies.

My nieces are sisters and they are also friends. They are wonderful teenagers, and I love seeing them mature as young ladies and friends. We have much to learn by watching others growing into their friendships.

One group of friends often overlooked is phone friends you never get to meet face to face. I have worked with a corporate office for more than 25 years and during those years I have yet to meet one office personnel that I have a phone friendship with on a daily basis.

We get pretty crazy and laugh so much at each other's antics. We share secrets, good news, and bad news, whatever pops into the conversation. We are truly friends. We care what happens to each other.

I have been lucky to have wonderful men and women come into my life. Never did it matter what age they were. My age, younger than me, my mother's age or even older, they became my friends. Never did it matter when they entered my life. Childhood, or teenage years, or middle aged, we became friends at exactly the right time for us. We kept in touch at exactly the right time for us.

How wonderful. How thankful.

To you my friends,

Patty