Long Time...No See!

In the last month I was thrilled to see friends some of which I hadn't seen in years. For example at Terry's wedding I was able to visit with Letty Garcia and meet her precious girls. I hadn't seen Letty since her wedding! She and I were good friends when I lived in San Angelo. We had some of the same classes and she and her sisters would invite me out. It was great seeing her again...

On the way to Abilene I get a call from G. telling me he was meeting up with Jessica Carrion in Sweetwater so that I could meet up too. So in the parking lot of K-Mart Ulisses and I stopped off with G. and Lauren to visit Jessica. I can't remember the last time I saw Jessica...but it was wonderful to see her and her beautiful Maddy, even if it was for just a few minutes. She's a friend for life...

Then immediately after arriving at the reception hall I see Mr. and Mrs. Riley. Mrs. Riley was my fifth grade teacher (wasn't she just about everybody's?!) and my mom was her teacher's aid before I was born. Well needless to say I became really excited...I think last time I saw her I was a student in her class! I was so happy to see her and to introduce her to Ulisses. He's heard plenty about her from me...she's my absolute favorite teacher...and I've modeled myself after her in my own teaching experience...and the fact that she has impacted my life so dramatically and in a positive light, reminds me that teachers do have the power to change lives...Mrs. Riley made me feel smart and that I could do and become anything in life...and now I pray I do the same for my students...

Also at the wedding/reception were all the Marquez...Terry's family from Tia Ritas side. I hadn't seen any of them since Pete's wedding six years ago in Merida. It was great to see Julie and her family...she's still as fun as ever...and I was glad to see Pedro (uncle grumpy). Jennifer and I bonded with him on the trip to Merida. He cracks me up...he's got a bit of a bad attitude but in an entertaining way...he reminds me of my Buelito in that sense.

And finally on our trip to Santa Fe I got a blast from my past all the way back to my high school years. What's weird is that the day before Ulisses and I were driving around the plaza and saw a girl run across the street. I immediately told Ulisses that she looked like Britney Bass...a girl who was in Fernando's class when we were in Gail...her sister Christa was in my class and had been a great friend of mine...anyway Ulisses pointed out that the girl crossing street looked about twelve or thirteen years old and could've no way gone to high school with me. O.k., so the next night we're dining at a local cafe when a waitress looks familiar to me...I ask her name and it's Britney Bass! After visiting with her a while she tells me her mother and younger sister, Samantha are also dining there...she walks us over to their table to say hi...and get this Samantha was the girl we saw crossing the street the day before!! Don't ask me how I recognized her...last time I saw her she was in pampers! Anyway...Britney and her friend invited Ulisses and I out to a local bar called the "Matador." We had the best time hanging out...I even got to talk to Christa on the phone for a bit...and at the risk of sounding cliched I must say "isn't it a small world?"