FRIENDSHIP

We met through a mutual friend and worked together at Local 24. While driving home late from work one night, Charlotte asked her mother if she could be dropped off a friend’s house. Doris, who was tired and it was one o’clock in the morning, retorted with a firm “No”! After a brief debate about it, Doris asked Charlotte to just be quiet about it. She had to take me and Cherry home, then drive Charlotte home as well as herself. We started out on 696 and after driving west for an unusual long time, we discovered that we were well on our way to Toledo.


Doris said, “Toledo!” “How the hell did we manage to get on the highway to Toledo?” Charlotte said in her supercilious voice, “You took the wrong turn”. “Why didn’t you say something?” Charlotte said, “You said to be quiet about it”. This sent Doris in a tizzy, nervous, sleepy, and a ways to go to the next exit. She chewed Charlotte out from left to right. Upset that Charlotte knew we were heading out of state and refused to direct us back home.

We finally made it back to the city, all of us exhausted on a road trip that was NOT planned. Many years later, I can still laugh at that moment with my friend Doris. I recently found her again after losing contact from so long ago. Last weekend, I told her that story again and I want to make sure she tells it to Charlotte too, so that we can etch that memory in our heart.

This is just one of my fond memories of my friend Doris…..