Dear Readers,

I didn’t recognize the phone number on the text.    Who could it be?  Yes, it was from my old (as in many years of friendship) friend Linda Rezende Mundy.  Her son, Marcus, had urged his parents to celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary, not to let it pass unnoticed.

So, we celebrated at this impromptu festivity at our favorite pizzeria/restaurant, Carollo’s in Pennsauken with pizza and good memories.

Forty years!  Congratulations, Linda and Dennis!  What an accomplishment!   My husband and I rued that we might not make forty years–not because we’re going to break up, but because we would be in our nineties if we make it to our fortieth anniversary.  We can try!

Linda’s dad, ninety, is sharp.  He remembered me well, although I might have changed somewhat over the decades.  (He hasn’t!)   He joked and told us how people tried to set him up with women, but he had no interest.  He’s a widower.  His wife was the loveliest, kindest woman and I saw her sweet face in Linda and her sister, Madelena, the two of his daughters at the get-together.

Madelena and I share a love of cats and I appreciate her Facebook posts with the cutest kittens ever–friends of felines bond!  It seemed like yesterday that I had met her at their home in Riverside when Linda and I were college students.

Linda and I share memories of Rutgers University in Camden–Dennis and she picked me up at my house in Cramer Hill for school and he had a sports car with an eight-track system.  We spent time together in French classes, cafeteria lunches, parties and a summer at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland as roommates.  I remember when my beautiful friend marched, grinning, into our room in the Swiss hotel with her purchase of her first bikini–red and white.  …Then, there were graduations, engagements, weddings, babies, kids’ parties, vacations and so much more.

I must mention Linda’s wedding.  What an exquisite bride with her long dark hair and big dark eyes!  Dennis was a little late to the wedding, but worth it.  He looked great in his tux with his blond hair and blue eyes.  What a good-looking couple!  I was a bridesmaid and, amazingly enough, Linda had sewed most of the gowns for the girls in the wedding.  At the time, I took Linda’s wonderfulness (is that a word?) for granted, but looking back, I have to say, “Wow!”

The years roll by and sometimes we don’t see our old friends for many years.  We get caught up in life.  That’s too bad.  But, when we have that reunion–it’s great.

I had such a happy time at the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Linda and Dennis Mundy.  Thanks for the impromptu invitation!  God bless you and …wish you forty more.

Love from

Marguerite (Wunsch) Ferra