A summer memory

Each morning I try to sit on my front porch with a cup of coffee and watch and listen to the sounds of early morning as the world around me wakes up. It is such a peaceful experience which sets the stage for my day.

I often hear the sounds of people walking or running together. I love to hear the sound of their voices as they talk or laugh breaking through the morning silence.

I am reminded of my friend Sandy Friedman who lived a block away from my house. She would pick me up at 6 a.m. and we would walk and talk. Sometimes we would laugh or cry, depending on what was happening in our lives.

Sandy came into my life quite by accident. She was out walking with a neighbor one morning. As they approached my house, her neighbor said, “Lets stop in at May’s house, she just had a baby.”  The evening before was the bris of my second son. It was loud and noisy with possibly 100 people in attendance. When everyone left, my house was in total disarray.

That morning, I did not know where to begin; I had a 6 year old and an 8-day-old baby. What do I do first; who do I take care of first?

The doorbell rang, and I let these two women in. They looked at the new baby with wonderful mother eyes. After they had enough of the baby, Sandy said, “We cannot leave this woman with a house that looks like this.” And she began helping me put my home back in order. In a short time, all the serving pieces were put away, counters were clean and everything was in order. I did not have words to thank these women for their help.

From that morning on, Sandy and I became fast friends. There is no way I can recount the cups of coffee and visits we’ve shared in good friendship. Sandy was there for me when I lost my husband, and she was there for me when I remarried.

Sandy is 10 years older than me, and I remember each August around her birthday when she would leave my house, she would say, “Do you think I look ___?” And we would laugh. I cannot believe that this began a mere 48 years ago.

When Sandy moved from the neighborhood, there were no more walks and very few visits.  However, when I sit on the porch on summer mornings, I hear friends walking and talking and the memories burst from deep inside of me, and I am walking with Sandy again as if it were yesterday.

MAY-RONNY ZEIDMAN is the executive director of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust  Education Center in Providence.