The Dirt Road Wonder: My Old Friend, I Miss You

Last week I lost my oldest friend, Mary Dale Joyce.

She was my oldest friend, as I met her while we were both in kindergarten, not first grade where I met the rest of my childhood friends.

It had been several months since I had seen her, and I had really missed her.

In 1941, Mary Dale, Potter Woodberry, Larry Bryant, and I were all enrolled in kindergarten at the Salem Methodist Church in Havana.

There we were taught our colors, ABCs, numbers, and most of all…how to get along with other children; I remember a few times when tempers would flare, and someone would get hit in the head with a wooden block.

The thing that stands out in my mind about kindergarten was the Christmas party.

Mama and Aunt Sophie Bryant had gone in together and bought the teacher (I wish I could remember her name) a beautiful wooden sewing box on a stand.

Larry and I watched her open it and stood there so proud, just like we had bought it and wrapped it ourselves.

I was just about five years old and had only been wearing shoes for about two years because of my two club feet.

Years later, Mary Dale got around to asking me why I wore such ugly shoes in kindergarten.

They were called corrective shoes and I agreed with her that they were ugly but did the job.

Our store was at the corner of Salem Road and Mrs. Woodberry would pick me up along with a carload of other children and take me to her house to play with Mary Dale and Potter.

We would run and play outside until we were worn out and it was time for me to go home.

Mary Dale loved movies.

The two that I remember her liking the best were Easter Parade and Show Boat.

Back in the day you could buy magazines that had all the words to popular songs but not the music.

We would buy them and sing those songs over and over again until our parents were sick of it and told us to go outside and play.

Mary Dale always had the prettiest smile, and I don’t remember her without one.

In every picture I ever saw of her, she had that beautiful smile.

She was always the peacemaker and wanted everyone around her to be happy.

Then came our high school years.

Mary Dale and I were in the Havana High School Band and had a great time on all the band trips.

In 1955, all four of the high school bands in the county received a superior rating in Tampa at the annual Band Festival.

I still have my medals that they gave us for that festival.

The thing that worried me the most in high school was the fact that I grew to 5’9 1/2 inches tall; I was so afraid that I was going to be six feet tall, and here was my friend that looked like a little doll.

She could wear the tiny sample shoes in the display windows of the stores, and I was heading to a size 9.

I think the term “Mutt and Jeff” applied to us.

When I got married, Mary Dale was one of my bridesmaids.

Years later, after being a widow for a long time, I married Brian Kidd on a boat at Wakulla Springs.

Mary Dale and Ed were on the boat with us.

My daughter was introducing everyone and when she introduced Mary Dale, she introduced her as my warmed-over bridesmaid.

Mary Dale was a good sport about it.

Her husband Ed and my Brian were both Marine Biologist, so when they got together, they had a lot to talk about.

Brian went back to school and studied Agriculture so he could work for the University of Florida Agricultural Station, but Marine Biology was always his first love.

Brian and I loved going out with Mary Dale and Ed, as it felt like we were kindred spirits.

I hope that we will all meet again in Heaven.

‘Till next time keep on the sunny side. Gwynn0720@Comcast.net

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The Dirt Road Wonder: My Old Friend, I Miss You

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CAT TALES: What They Say About Cats

Local Jehovah’s Witnesses returning to in-person meetings

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