Wednesday, February 17, 2016

OLD FRIENDS

And yes we are old now.

The Three Amigos I showed you in my blog post yesterday at a very early age got together for the first time in many decades yesterday at the annual Stanley (North Dakota) picnic in Mesa.

Two of them are now 76 and one (me) is fast approaching that age.


We've changed a bit.

All of us now wear glasses.

All of us now sport facial hair.

All of us are, how should I say, stockier.

But the expressions on our faces are much the same as they were 70 or more years ago.


You might wonder why a picnic for former residents of a small town in far north North Dakota is held every year in Arizona, more than a thousand miles away.

It's the snowbird factor.

Long ago, retirees from those cold, snowy climes discovered that the sun nearly always shines and it's nearly always warm down here as opposed to cold and snowy in their home environs.

So they began spending their winters here and migrating back north for the summers.

Such people are known as Snowbirds.

A number of them (like me) found Arizona so pleasant they moved here permanently and only go back to North Dakota for a visit or for a few weeks in the summer.

Hence, there is a large population of people here in February from that town in the center of the Bakken oil boom and an annual picnic was begun many years ago and it continues today.



Turnout is usually good and everyone has a great time.


As one grows old(er) it becomes more and more of a pleasure to see our former classmates and friends and catch up on their lives.

Even if, at first glance, we may not recognize them!

10 comments:

  1. Hey, it was good to wee you again, Cougar. Hop[e to see your big brother in Stanley this summer. Why don't you show up, too?

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  2. Enjoyed the post.

    Steve

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  3. What an opportunity! Always good to make the effort. Looked like a gorgeous day.

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  4. Cool! Great to see that Little Rascals crowd a couple of decades on.

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  5. So glad you're having a great time and enjoying your buddies. Take care.

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  6. Ex-pat community. Yeah, you all look much the same.

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  7. Next stage is cataracts fixed and you all stop wearing glasses!

    Love the old pic, and your expressions really are the same aren't they?!

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    Replies
    1. I've had both eyes done, still wear bifocals.

      As for the expressions, I tried to duplicate mine. The other guys are just naturals.

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  8. Nice matching shirts on the way back pic...

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