Should we all be so lucky to have those people in our lives who are the ultimate reminders of everything we hold true. Those people who are our pillars of strength. And most importantly, those people who make us laugh. For me, one such person is Gladys.
Beyond Gladys, I am also blessed to have a unique collection of friends called the "Soul Sisters." We met 10 years ago in Australia, all randomly moved to San Francisco, and now span the country. We are a diverse group of ladies all leading very unique and distinct lives. Despite our geographic diversity, we make a committment each year to come together for a reunion. I was privvy to host the ladies this time around, and per usual it was a timeless period of togetherness full of laughter, tears, and reminders of our most innocent and ideal selves. A few highlights: welcome to spa paige; low barometric pressure state; margarita migraines; toothpaste as facial cream?; purple bras; chickflick cherry; I'm not really a waitress red; espresso your style; what doozi day suzi; netflix vs. blockbuster; march of the penguins changed my life; inconvenient truth - did al gore get work done?; ultimate meal breakfast shot.
These weekends leave us all with a deep gratitude for the gift of friendship and that somehow the magic we feel when we are together will make a mark on our individual worlds as we spread the sister love. I will end this posting with highlights of an article crafted 7 years ago by writer/videographer extraordinaire Tina:
So Called "Soul Sisters" Scintillate Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area - April 13, 1999
SAN FRANCISCO - Maybe you've spotted them at a traffic light, dancing to the deafening sounds of Michael Jackson or Aretha Franklin. Perhaps you have been seated next to them a Sunday brunch, watching them read their horoscope out of every local newspaper. Better yet, maybe you have been so lucky to have met them personally, for rumor has it you will forever have good luck.
This aberrant group pf girlfriends call themselves the Soul Sisters and they are bewildering Bay Area residents in increasing numbers. "These girls have a refereshing and vitalizing sense about them; never have I seen such a fun, intelligent and efferevescent group of friends," states a seven year San Francisco resident (name not to be exposed). Another Bay Area resident comments, "The Sisters are very enigmatic. It is almost as if they carry a quality of prescience, a knowledge of actions or events before they happen." ...............Surprising enough, the Soul Sisters are your somewhat normal group of girlfriends who are actively aware of the simple relationship between all that is tangible and intangible. Sounds a little weird? Well, they hold what I want to call a "inner spiritual philiosophy" that is quite simple. The mind, body, and spirit together as one thrives on love, honesty, laughter, energy, curiosity, adventure, and most importantly, moment to moment happiness. These women have an insatiable appetite for fun and discovery. And as others will describe, "they know something others don't." Unfortunately, most people don't understand what this "something" is - to be awake to and aware of every experience, every feeling, every emotion, and every smile. In the world of these women, sunsets speak special languages and music is present in silence.
Beyond creating quite a name for themselves, the Soul Sisters have given San Francisco what any town can never have enough of - contagious laughter, audaciaous spirits, and best of all, the greatest example of the power and gift of true friendship; for imaginiation has no boundaies and play gives us freedom.
1 comment:
Amen. After a year off, my own sisterhood group, er, brotherhood (of the travelling pants?) group is getting together in March and I can't wait. One runs a school in the Rio Grande Valley, another teaches in inner city LA, and another recruits and trains new public school administrators so the professional inspiration is there in full effect to be sure. However, it is absolutely the laughter, the comfort of being our base selves, and the unconditional love that I look most forward to. We are indeed lucky to have these folks who truly recharge us even if just once a year.
As for Gladys, while the Austin American Statesman insinuates that she is a fake, I agree with Ellen who says that even if Gladys is a fake, there are real ones (Gladi?)out there all over the place - and props to the faker for bringing us the laugh.
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