October and Jeaninne

October is here at last. Thank goodness! Fall is my favorite season, a real relief after the dog days of summer. (Of course, when April arrives, I'll swear that spring is my favorite season. Which will also be true.)

I've always wished I had the coloring of my friend Jeaninne. She LOOKED like autumn--with beautiful auburn hair, and always wore fall colors beautifully. We were best friends in high school (bff's even then). We were in most classes together, and even double dated. I remember pizza parties, and walking through a snowstorm to the corner grocery store to buy the pizza mix. NOT Chef Boyardee, and this was before the time of Papa John's. No way to order online for delivery in 30 min. But my preference in pizza hasn't changed in 50 years--pepperoni, mushrooms, and GREEN olives. We'd make the pizzas, and when Nick and Don came over, we'd eat and listen to Johnny Mathis and Dave Brubeck. (Please note that this was 50 years ago, so I may be mixing my time periods. Was Dave Brubeck 60's or 70's?)

Jeaninne's home was a second home to me. Her mother was a wonderful cook; I still use her lasagne recipe. Her father was a physicist at Oak Ridge National Lab, and built a race car. They always made me feel welcome, and I loved spending time there. Her mother taught me how to knit, as well as sharing recipes. She loved opera and ballet, and their home was filled with good books, wonderful music, and art work.

Jeaninne drove a little yellow Crosley convertible, shaped like a box, with a hole in the floor where you could see the pavement go by. I lived on a steep hill, and when she picked me up, the neighboring German Shepherd would run alongside us up the hill. He was at about eye level, and ran at about the same speed as the Crosley, as it putt-putted up the hill. We had lots of laughs and good times in that little Crosley.

Through all the years after high school, we stayed really good friends, though we never lived in the same place again. She went to University of Wisconsin in Madison, married and moved to Japan. Their two children were born in Japan, and were bilingual up to the time of their return to the States. They lived in California after that. But Jeaninne and I stayed close friends, and shared that same crazy humor we'd had in high school. Whenever she came home for a visit, I'd get back to Oak Ridge to see her, and we'd pick back up where we'd left off. We'd exchange book lists, recipes, and life experiences. She was a wonderful friend.

I lost my friend a year ago to cancer. It is still painful, as such losses always are. So many things remind me of her--books, music, movies, art, food, wine--I could go on and on. As October turns Tennessee trees to golds, oranges, and rusts, I'll have Jeaninne with me. I dedicate this October to her.