Little Jennifer turns 40..... Finally!

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Ice ice baby
Ice ice baby
All right stop
Collaborate and listen....I

I'm about to share some memories of one of my oldest best friends.  She turns 40 tomorrow and I couldn't be more thrilled!!!! You know when we were 15 and getting our driver's licenses, it seemed like August would never roll around for her.  I'm betting this year, she told it to take its sweet time.  Oh well..... In light of recent events this week and just life in general, turning 40 is a blessing.  Many don't see it.  I find myself looking in the mirror these days looking at new grey hairs, sun damage from years of abuse because Hello!!! No one told us not to put iodine in baby oil and lie out in the sun all day long or crawl up on a rooftop with our bodies sprayed with Afro Sheen.  But, once again, I digress..... 

Where do I start with Jennifer or "Little Jennifer" as my mother has always called her?  I think I'll start here.

Hi! Here we are in my back yard on Cheatham Street, Belzoni, MS, dressed in our dresses, coloring because that's normal, right?  I think this looks more like my mother's idea of fun.  The dresses part.  The coloring part may have been ours or maybe, mama said, go outside and color!   Anyway, I remember my mama always brushing our hair and saying, "Little Jennifer doesn't scream like you do when I brush your hair!"  I was thinking, maybe because Little Jennifer's hair is straight as a board and mine most mornings could be described as what it looks like in this picture taken years later at the Sory home after our 8th grade dance. 

That's Rainer, Alison, Little Jennifer, and me with the nice hair

I called mama tonight for her to help me work on some memories for Jennifer's 40th and she gave me one I don't remember.  She said Jennifer's  Grandma Davis in Silver City cut Jennifer's bangs way too short one time and it looked really funny.  How did I miss this and is there a photo which brings me to my favorite thing about my friend "Little Jennifer".  She's always good for a laugh.  I have laughed more with her since we were around 4 years old than I even know!  When she's really tickled, the nostrils on her nose wiggle! Did y'all know that?  Just watch next time she gets to laughing really hard.  

Sometimes her laughing got me into some hurtful situations.  One day at the famous Pig Stand in Belzoni, I was handing the food through the window of our car to mama and mama,  being the airhead she is,  (hey, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree) started rolling the window up.  My arm was literally flattened before mama realized what she was doing.  I was still holding the drink I was handing through the window, too.  How I didn't drop it, I will never know?  Jennifer couldn't say anything about my distressful situation because she was giggling too hard.  The incident left a bruise on my arm. I think she and mama need to get started on a long, drawn out written apology on that one. 

One year, possibly our 8th or 9th, we went on a trip with my parents to Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Branson, Missouri.  However, we never thought we'd get there because mama and daddy stopped at every junk store along the way.  Do you know how many junk stores are along the highway in Arkansas and Missouri or were in 1990?  I think possibly, 15,000 or maybe a million! Never been so sick of that mess! We just decided we'd sit in the car.  One highlight of our trip was staying in a motel with an actual vibrating bed.  Just like on National Lampoon's Summer Vacation.  Looking back, I'm not sure I want to know who all slept or did whatever on that bed.  But, tossing 2 quarters into the coin slot and lying down while you shook for like 5 minutes was hysterical.  I really didn't get it, really.  How was that even soothing?  

Here we are somewhere on our trip.  Whose idea it was to take a picture with a jackass, I'm not sure, but hey, it prepared us for lots of moments in our life, like..... dealing with jackasses. 

And, yes, to this day, I just stare sometimes at them and Jennifer just gives them a goofy look.  

Here we are at Silver Dollar City! Yay, we finally made it out of the Junk Stores!!! Woo Hoo! 

Or, maybe one of the photos is not Silver Dollar City, but hey! when you get to be 40, it's okay to forget! And, at least,  it's not a junk store.  

I have to back up now to a few years back....

Our 6th grade year, Jennifer hid her progress reports in a baby diaper of one of her baby dolls.  I think this is pure genius.  And, Mary Kiker, if you read this, do not try this at home! Anything your parents have done were done to prove to you that it was stupid and you will get caught.  Things were rocking along pretty swell until report cards came out and Pam wanted to know why she never got a progress report about these classes Jennifer was failing or about to fail.  I can't remember exactly (insert 40 response explanation).  Anyway, Pam grounded Jennifer until the end of the school year.  I think it was only a few months, but this was brutal!!!! No talking on the phone and no going anywhere.  I have to admit, I thought about kidnapping her.  Just wasn't sure what I would've done with her when I got her.  Plus, I was sortive scared of Pam, too.  She might know about my grades too at this point and get my parents riled up.  Rainer, Alison, and I set the wheels in motion before school got out to give Jennifer a HUGE "Ungrounding Party" and by HUGE, I mean all the rotel dip you can eat, cinnamon rolls for breakfast, music on the radio in my room, putting on make up, making a video using Rainer's parents' camcorder, and watching the movie, Halloween all night.  Yeah.... HUGE!!! The only snag in this party was I bought a stink bomb at the local  Piggly Wiggly in the toy section and busted it open on our carport.  Let me just warn you that busting it open on the carport was not far enough away.  Daddy opened the door and asked, "What the heck is that?"  Having learned not to lie early on, I confessed!! He had the heart not to spank me at Jennifer's party.  Thanks, Daddy! You rock! 

I'm responsible for Jennifer's only head wound.  You can't see it because her beautiful, straight, I don't cry when brushing it, hair is covering it, but one day while playing in my playhouse, she stepped on one of my homemade curtains.  The curtains were being held in place by a ceramic pig.  I guess because she was not tall enough,  (That's my story) when she stepped on the bottom of the curtain, the pig rolled off the top of the curtain and hit her head, where if she'd been tall like "Big Jennifer", it would've hit her foot.  See, not my fault! I've never seen so much blood in my life.  So, where do you go with your bleeding friend on a summer's day.  To Nanny's house, of course.  I got into trouble for this whole episode because I wasn't suppose to bring company over that day. I couldn't help it she was clumsy and short.  She got me back later by throwing a dirt clod at my nose.  I was supposed to catch it.  

Scott spent the summer of our 9th grade year in Mt Shasta, California and God Bless, Scott.  He forgot to hide the keys to his car.  I think me and Jennifer put about 2,000-3,000 miles or maybe more on that car that summer listening to Ice Ice Baby and I hate to mention this now, but Too Short and Easy-E.  Yeah... we didn't have lots of walking around sense.  That Ice Ice Baby cassette single had to have been worn out by the end of that summer though.  

I will say our musical tastes have improved, but sometimes you listen to things to take yourself to a time in which you weren't, well..... 40.  

The last childhood memory I have is of our senior year at the Wasp Lake Bridge.

 Disclaimer:  Before reading this, you must know we were never juvenile delinquents.  

We live in a county where there wasn't much to do on the weekends.  We invented our fun - riding around the same strip over and over, bonfires, etc, and in this memory, jumping off Wasp Lake Bridge.  Unfortunately, someone who lived out there (not anyone we knew, I hope) took it upon themselves to call the cops that day.  I do apologize to all cops today because they are having a hard time now.  But, this story took place in 1994. 

The bridge had names spray painted all over it.  I never painted my name.  Never saw Jennifer paint hers.  And, if I saw someone paint theirs, I hope the statute of limitations has run out on that one.... We had been jumping off the bridge when all of a sudden BLUE LIGHTS!!!! The police officer was telling us to stay off the bridge... yada yada yada! We weren't robbing stores or selling dope.  Harmless teenage behavior in my book! But, at the end of his speech he said, "And, whose names is these on this bridge???" Wrong question to ask when Jennifer is standing around listening. 

She said, "Whose ever it says it is..." 

My daddy still loves that story.  Priceless. 

We've shared lots of ups and downs in our friendship along the way.  She is still one of my best friends.  She makes me laugh almost weekly.  My mama told me to tell her tonight, "Happy Birthday and I hope you find you a rich man."  

Well... Can't post a Too Short or Easy-E song here. So......... 

I'm even a forgiving friend.  She and my other bestie, Susan made fun of me when I was around 4 or 5.  I can still picture those 2 on the playground by the old house day care (where the FBC parking lot is now in Belzoni) making fun of me because I couldn't tie my shoes.  My Aunt Irene took care of the shoe situation.  I don't tie them like anyone else.  I think those 2 were just trying to get close to me. They are my lifelong, best friends and I love them so much.  Happy Birthday, Little Jennifer.  I'll be over tomorrow to brush your hair for you.