By: Jackie Winkler

Who can list the criteria that qualifies a person as a “best friend?” That is a personal question! I have the privilege of still being relatively close with so many of my grade and high school friends, not because I’m such a swell person, but rather due to an invisible connection that has persevered over time and circumstance. That may sound lofty and a little ambiguous, so let me put meat on those bones! Let me share a few details about one such long-term, enduring friendship.
You know her.

I moved to the E.J.Brown School district before beginning the 5th grade where I would attend the 5th school of my brief educational career. Being quite shy, I don’t really remember how I integrated into the scene, but I loved my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Daschield. That year I met friends I would love for life (I won’t name them all, but I could!). I also do not remember how DeeDee Study and I first met, but she lived on Willowwood where I became a regular visitor. My house was quiet and usually empty, but DeeDee’s home had life; her mom, dad, sister, brother, in-laws were commonly present or coming and going. They welcomed me and I welcomed the inclusion.

Spending the night with DeeDee on a school eve meant I might get to wear something from her closet the next day! I loved her powder blue and her blush pink angora sweaters, so I wore them whenever I mustered the courage to ask her. (She never said I couldn’t, so my hesitation was in my own head.) I have no recollection what we did together otherwise, but we were there, together. The two of us. As the years marched on, we graduated from Brown School 8th grade to Colonel White High.

We had no classes together, and we never double-dated. I did not invite DeeDee to my house much because it was not an inviting place; her home was alive with people and activity. Toward the end of our freshman year we both auditioned for Little Colonels, and we both were selected to join the team! We never roomed together at band camp. We were not joined at the hip, but we always knew the other was not far away. Prior to our senior year DeeDee’s family moved to Englewood, outside of the CW school district. With a special dispensation from the Board of Education she was given permission to continue at CW because she was a Little Colonel! Now she needed transportation, so her parents gifted her with a new, 1965 turquoise Mustang to safely shuttle us to and from all points of fun and responsibility!

Following graduation we each went to work—not college—in Dayton and we stayed connected through our first marriages until I left the country to live in Holland. Since snail mail became our only option for communication, and because life picked up pace for both of us, our interaction was sparse for the next several years. Marriages. Kids. Jobs. Divorces. Financial ups and downs. Health challenges. Travels. But I always knew DeeDee was there (you know what I mean by that).

Unable to attend our 25th Year Reunion (1988), DeeDee sent me a long-hand letter written on a yellow legal pad describing the big event—pictures and all. I was almost present with other friends through her letter and the photos! The photo below was taken in 1993, five years following the reunion, while I was visiting Dayton from Tennessee.

After the one-time Little Colonel Reunion in 2010, I moved to Troy, Ohio, and DeeDee and I were able to resume our friendship on a local level. I separated us geographically again toward the end of 2014…this time to accept a part-time job in Florida. After I finished packing and my apartment was nearly empty, DeeDee became the gracious protector of my Little Colonel uniform, boots and hat included which she still holds for me. (Never ask why I think I need to save it!)

Since my move to Alaska via Mexico in 2014, it seems we are more attached to each other. We understand what each is saying on that deeper level…especially the aging issues…a continuum of pain and seriousness. With the Internet at our discretion now we can readily talk to each other, once a week or several times a day. Our long-time, no-holds barred, unrelenting friendship will continue as long as we do. From our simple childhood connection to our deeper sharing and conversations over sixty years, we know we have been given the gift of each other (sounds a little sappy, I know).