Those Were The Days, My Friend

I grew up in rural Surry County, Virginia. There were 22 students in my high school graduating class.

Thankfully, I’ve always lived either in Surry County or in Isle of Wight, the neighboring county.

Although a few of my classmates have moved out of the area, a couple of passed on, and we’ve lost touch with some, I’m still friends with many.  And a group of my former classmates and I have formed a small group and call ourselves “The Surry Girls”.  We meet for lunch to celebrate holidays and birthdays.

Last Friday, we celebrated Donna’s and Rita’s birthdays. The restaurant was “The Mod Olive” in nearby Suffolk. We love the 1970’s decor, the music from that era and the food there.

Our theme for the birthday lunch was the 1960’s/hippie/flower child. Between thrift shops, Amazon and our own closets, we dressed the part. We wore flowers in our hair, peace necklaces, go-go-boots, vests, mini skirts, granny glasses and bell bottoms.  In this picture, we were joined by one of the ‘models’ at The Mod Olive. Her name, appropriately enough, is Rhonda. She fit right in with our group.

Peace!

We talked about our first make-up items and mentioned brands like Noxzema, Bonne Bell, and of course how much we were smitten with everything British, including Yardley of London and The Beatles.

We decorated the table with album covers from the era: Love Story, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Gary Puckett, Paul Revere And The Raiders, Petula Clark…. They just don’t make music like that these days.

Those Were The Days, My Friend

After our lunch, Liz (in the go-go boots) and I crossed the street together on the way to our vehicles. We laughed and said that the folks waiting for us to cross must have thought they were caught in a time warp.

The staff at Mod Olive was so accommodating; they took pictures for us and had almost as much fun as we did.

Those were the days, my friend(s)….who says they have to end?

~These Days Of Mine~