Preschool artwork

On Saturday, Steve delivered this piece of artwork. He and his family had just visited Mary Tooley, our preschool art teacher. She gave him a masterpiece he had done and this one of mine to take back.

I’m blown away that she kept our work for over three decades. She told him that she doesn’t save tons of things but she remembered how much we loved art.

Of my circa 1974 bowl-haircut-and-bellbottoms number, Mrs. Tooley said, “I loved it! It is impossible to look at that picture and not be happy.”

What makes me happy is that it’s a wonderful connection to Children’s Workshop and to the past in general. Steve was one of my first friends. And Mrs. Tooley was the first teacher I admired. With her bright red hair, she was so fun and chic (not that I knew what "chic" meant yet).

So thanks for bringing back more good Tosa memories!

Three nights in Tosa

I don't know that there's any connecting thread here, but I wanted to share these photos of my hometown friends.

Thursday
I had dinner with a few Tosa East '88 friends at Café Hollander. Steve got us all together and we talked about memorable teachers, kangaroo farms, college Frisbee teams, and who pre-partied before the reunion.

We had a blast but because Steve and Beth live in Seattle, Kris is in Sheboygan, and Bob is selective about the time he spends in Tosa (“It’s inbred”), it may be another year before we are reunited.

Friday
I had a mixed doubles match at Hart Park. After my marathon match on Wednesday, I didn’t have much left. It felt like it took forever for Jess and me to lose.

Fortunately we went to Leff’s afterward, where we numbed the pain with burgers and beer. Here’s Jess taking out his frustration by pummeling Shappy.

It was another fun outing as lots of the gang came to hang out.

Saturday
Sarah, Molly, Katy, and I grew up on the same block in Tosa. Molly (class of '90) hosted dinner for three generations of the Mevis clan.

It was an evening of brats, brownies, coconut cake, and catching up about neighborhood goings-on (like the world travels of a kid we used to babysit for who liked to be called The Lord). Plus Danny tromped around with one red boot and we enjoyed the musical stylings of Ella and Charlie.

I recently heard a saying, that one old friend is better than two new ones. But I feel lucky to have both!

Hart Fest

On Saturday, Addie and I served beer at Hart Fest. When we started our shift, the sun was shining and the crowd was mellow — mostly families and people with dogs.

The night was by turns fun and harrowing: the spillover from the foamy High Life made for challenging maneuvering to the cash drawer. But our crew of Tosa East grads, parents, and teachers laughed it off.

By the time Addie and I left (11:00? 11:30?), we had mud- and beer-crusted feet. And we hadn't actually drunk any beer.

Also, Scott tried to give my XL t-shirt a Def Leppard look by cutting holes in it.

“You’ll get at least three or four compliments on that,” he said.

He was wrong.

Good times in Tosa

Steve and Jennifer and I met for coffee at Alterra — in Wauwatosa, where we grew up. Granted, Alterra didn't exist the last time we saw each other, 20 years ago.

When Steve and I got back in touch, he sent me a link to our preschool art teacher’s blog. In her most recent post, "Scoops", she reminisces about Friday visits to Leon’s. I can’t think about frozen custard without getting sentimental about the Midwest — and vice versa. I’ll be going to L.A. later this week, and whenever I’m away from home for more than a couple of days, I feel nostalgic for stuff like that. Nevermind that I don’t eat frozen custard that often; I just like to know that I can. Yesterday, in anticipation of my six-day absence, I stopped at Culver’s for a chocolate cone. I felt full about halfway through, but I was driving and didn’t have anyplace to put the cone down, so I just finished it. Such is the nature of frozen custard.

Anyway, things have been crazy busy with tennis and a new freelance assignment, but I really enjoyed reconnecting with old friends (and favorite foods). Next on the agenda: Jennifer has promised we'll meet for drinks at Sluggo's. Somehow, I suspect that that will be a few months down the road....

Wauwatosa East, Class of 1988

I dreaded going to my 20-year reunion — Sarah and Katy, my closest friends from high school, weren't going. But my stylist met me at the salon on his day off to approve my outfit and do my hair and makeup (“very Zhang Ziyi,” he said), so I was pretty much committed.

Walking in was the hardest part. But I heard someone squeal "How arrrrrrrrrre you?!" and figured it wouldn't be too bad.

It was a blast. Imagine a party where everyone is thrilled to see you and hear how you’re doing. Lots of hugs, along with the usual “What do you do” and “Are you still in the area” –type questions. Occasionally I had to look at nametags (which also had our senior pictures on them), but most people looked the same. In a good way.

Okay, maybe there were more glasses and gray. And less hair (again, in a good way; hair was very large in the '80s).

Here are a few photos. I could tell you who everyone is, but that would spoil the fun. (You can click on the photos and read most of the nametags.) And Katy, do you recognize everyone in the third photo? All of us went to Jefferson (a 30-year grade-school reunion!).

I hope it won't be another decade before I see my classmates again. But I guess that's the beauty of Facebook; we can get updates almost hourly about each other's lives. Hope to see you all soon.